Memoirs of a Diva: Book Two: The Invasion
by punkydiva17
Summary: *Story Completed* Shane and Rinoa are seemingly happy encased in a secret relationship in the WWF. But when Kurt Angle's obsession leads him to do the unthinkable, will Rinoa and Shane be able to survive as a couple? R
1. WrestleMania XSeven

**Chapter One: WrestleMania X-Seven**

Life was good for Rinoa Fielder as she entered Houston's Reliant Astrodome on April 1, 2001. She was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a white T-shirt, her hair in a high ponytail, a wide smile on her face. It was a big night.

It had been a whirlwind for her since Shane had kissed her on New Year's Day. They had agreed to date, but were keeping it a secret for the sake of Vince's wrath and Rinoa's career. They had been together for almost three months now, stealing and sneaking kisses here and there when they were absolutely certain nobody would see. Their relationship was still at an early level, but Rinoa was already wondering just how on Earth they were going to sneak latenight hotel room visits when the time came. She wasn't in any rush, but she knew with the rumors still running rampant, people were keeping an extra eye on the two of them.

A lot had happened outside of her relationship as well. Trish and Stephanie had more or less put aside their differences, and were aligned with Vince, leaving Shane to fight the good fight by himself. Linda was still sedated and catatonic as a result of a nervous breakdown. Sick of watching his father parade his affair with the bleached blonde beauty, Shane had come out of his self-imposed exile to take on his father in a street fight at WrestleMania. Former Commissioner Mick Foley would be officiating. Rinoa wasn't sure of the details, but it had something to do with some contracts that Linda signed before her hospitalization. Kurt Angle was still more or less after her, but she was staying away from him as much as she could. He was starting to become verbally aggressive and it was starting to worry her, and it drove Shane crazy that he couldn't come right out and do something about it.

Career wise, everything was going all right. Chyna was facing Ivory for the championship, and she was more or less helping newer Divas develop. Chyna still had some mysterious issue with her, but Rinoa had yet to have a full on confrontation with her.

The WrestleMania card looked great. Angle vs. Benoit, Austin vs. Rock's second Mania main event, Hunter vs. Undertaker and Shane vs. Vince. She wished there was a way for Shane and Vince to revolve their difference that didn't involve violence, but she understood this was something Shane needed to do.

She felt an arm grab her and pull her into a locker room. With a smile crossing her face as the door shut, she dropped her bag as Shane's lips captured hers. She brushed her hands up his arms before resting around his neck as he deepened the kiss.

He pulled back. "I needed one for luck," he confessed sheepishly. She smiled, resting her head against his chest.

"You getting nervous, sweetie?" she asked. He wrapped an arm tightly around her.

"Yeah. You know, how dysfunctional does it sound when you say out loud you're having a street fight against your dad?" Rinoa laughed. "Your family's out here tonight?"

"Yeah," she answered. "They want to meet you."

"Have you told them we're dating?"

"I haven't told anyone. You never know who could slip up." Shane nodded. She was being extra careful. He had to admit, the entire keeping it a secret thing was really kind of hot. It was obvious to everyone that there was something there...they just weren't making it obvious. They had spent the rest of New Year's after that initial kiss talking about the ramifications of a relationship. But they had both wanted it.

"What are you doing tonight?"

"I am managing Chris against William Regal...something about me being all pissed off about some Divas match I got thrown into. It's nice to work with Chris again." Shane nodded; Rinoa and Chris were still close after all the years they had spent together. "So do I get another kiss before I have to go get ready?" He smiled and leaned in, kissing her softly. She smiled.

"You call that a kiss?" she teased.

"Come back to my hotel room after the show and I'll give you a real one." He winked and Rinoa laughed.

"I just might have to do that." She blew him a kiss and grabbed her bag before disappearing.

"Rinoa! Rinoa!"

Her shoulders slumped and she turned to see Kurt Angle behind her. It was becoming a ritual. She'd arrive, sneak a kiss from Shane, and he'd be right there when she left his locker room, ready to hump her leg into submission. "Hi, Kurt. Good luck against Chris Benoit tonight. It's sure to be a good one."

"It's going to steal the show tonight, oh, it's true...it's _damn _true." She thought about rolling her eyes, but he was close enough to make it obvious.

"So, I noticed you just came out of Shane's locker room..._again_," he observed. She shrugged.

"I wanted to wish him good luck before his match against his dad tonight. It's been a rough few months for the guy."

"Do I get a good luck kiss?" he asked. She visibly shuddered.

"I've got to go see Chris. We're opening the show. Good luck tonight." He went to reach for her and she just missed his grasp. Thanking her lucky stars, she made her way over to the locker room of Chris Jericho. Kurt watched as Chris let her in, shooting him a deadly stare before closing the door. Kurt scoffed. Chris Jericho could say what he wanted, but he knew when a woman was digging on him. And Rinoa Fielder...she liked him.

"He's still harassing you, Rinoa?" Chris asked as she set her bag down on a bench.

"Yeah," she answered. "What else is new?" Chris nodded.

"I don't like the way he looks at you, Rinoa."

"Neither do I," she confessed. "It's been getting weirder and weirder lately. Shane even said he's been flashing on heavy weather ahead with that guy."

"And how is Shane tonight? I know you've seen him already."

Rinoa blushed. "I saw him and he's nervous about the match."

"There's a rumor going around that Trish is bringing Linda tonight."

"What?" Rinoa sighed in disgust. "You've got to be kidding."

"It's just a rumor so far. If I see anything, I'll let you know." She nodded and began rifling through her duffel bag for something Chris Jericho-themed to wear out to ringside with him.

"It's a good thing I don't have to speak tonight because I can't remember for the life of me what the hell I'm so mad at Regal for." Chris laughed. She pulled out a shining silver dress to match his overshirt and disappeared into the shower stalls to change. She emerged and Chris cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Get back in there and get changed, Rinoa. You call that a dress?"

"Oh, Jesus, Chris, it's not like you haven't seen a pair of legs before." She made her way over to her bag and pulled out a pair of silver heels.

"That's so short."

"Get over it," she answered with a smile, standing to her feet. She tousled her hair. She looked over at him. "Do I at least look all right?"

"Yeah. You look fine." He extended his arm. "Ready to go, jerky?"

"You know it, assclown." They traded wide smiles before walking out of the locker room.

WrestleMania was a bigger spectacle than Rinoa could have ever imagined. The ramp was extra long, something she knew Taker was going to love when he rode his bike to the ring. The lights, the enormous set up, the 67,925 people screaming and shouting in adulation. She and Chris smiled as Chris showboated and Rinoa waved to the fans. William Regal was already in the ring, glowering at the two of them. She stopped at the end of the ramp and gave Chris a reassuring pat on the arm. "Good luck in there, and beat him down." Chris smiled and made his way up the stairs as Rinoa moved closer to the apron. A few guys were shouting inappropriate comments at her, but she brushed them all off and watched the two men in the ring fight.

Chris' Intercontinental Championship was on the line; with Commissioner Regal wanting to knock Jericho down a peg or two for his "beligerent behavior". The big finish came when he hit a Lionsault on Regal to retain his title. He rolled out of the ring and slid an arm around Rinoa as a referee ran around the ring to hand him his title. Regal was sitting in the ring, staring at the two of them, eyes blazing like hellfire. Rinoa was slapping Chris' chest and Chris had his arm raised high, the championship hanging from his hand.

Backstage, Rinoa was all smiles. She had never seen such a spectacle. WCW didn't have anything on that level. She could see Bradshaw, Faarooq and Jacqueline sitting behind a makeshift door labeled "APA", drinking beer and playing cards. She waved to Jacqueline, who flashed her a smile as Bradshaw ranted and raved about the importance of the Astrodome and WrestleMania.

An hour and a half later, Shane emerged through the curtains, victorious against his father. It had been a hell of a fight. His mother was by his side, smiling, as Mick Foley gave him a slap on the back and a congratulations. In a surprise twist of the night, Trish had turned on Vince for his constant mysoginistic treatment of her, catfighting with Stephanie before chasing her out of the arena. With Shane seemingly in the throes of defeat, Linda stood from her chair and kicked Vince in his grapefruits. With Mick Foley giving a brief assist, Shane was able to hit the Coast to Coast on his father for the win. Underneath his right eye was swollen as he had taken a few punches from his father in the opening minutes of the match. He had also taken one of Stephanie's famous slaps.

He hugged his mother closer to him and entered his locker room to find Rinoa waiting there with an icepack. She looked at Linda and blushed, handing Shane the icepack. "I noticed your eye was a little swollen. I thought this might take it down a little bit."

Linda cocked an eyebrow and Shane took the icepack from Rinoa. "Thanks, Rinoa." She looked over at Linda.

"Hi, Mrs. McMahon. It's great to see you again. How are you feeling?"

"Relieved. You wouldn't believe how great it felt to kick Vince right where it hurts," she replied with a smile. "I'm so proud I have a son like Shane." Rinoa nodded.

"He's a great guy."

"Well, I'm glad he has a wonderful Diva to look out for him," she replied. "Do you mind if Shane and I have a talk?"

"Of course, Mrs. McMahon..."

"Please. Linda."

"Linda." She turned to Shane. "I'm going to watch the show with Chris. I'll bring my parents backstage after Rock-Austin." He nodded and she turned to Linda. "I'm glad to see you're up and healthy again."

"Thank you." With that, Rinoa disappeared. Shane sighed; at least he knew with his mother, it wasn't going to be too bad.

"Your father doesn't know, does he?" she asked.

"Mom, there's nothing going on."

"Shane, you're my son. You never could lie to me." Shane looked at his mom and smiled. She had a point. He sat down and she sat down beside him. "How long has this been going on, Shane?"

"Mom, do we really have to go through this."

"Shane, if you're dating a Diva, I'd like to know a few things, all right." Shane sighed.

"Could you advertise that any louder, Mom?"

"Shane, just answer me."

Shane smiled. Over the years, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't keep anything from Linda. He had always been close to his mother. "I've been dating her for about three months now, Mom," he said, keeping his tone hushed.

"Whose idea was it to keep this a secret?" she asked.

"Both of ours. I know Dad's going to be pissed and I know Rinoa's worried about how people are going to see her career from here on in, so we both agreed to keep quiet." He shook his head. "Don't worry so much, Mom. Rinoa's a wonderful woman."

"Okay, Shane. But just be careful. Has she told her parents?"

"No. You're the only one who knows. Can we please keep it that way for now?" Linda smiled at him.

"Of course, Shane. Just keep an eye on her. Don't think I wasn't coherent enough to listen to you talk about Kurt Angle." Shane's head snapped up, surprised. "He's kind of slimy, Shane. Keep Rinoa close to the vest on this one." Shane nodded and she stood to her feet. "Now, I've got some business to attend to with your father. I'll see you at home." He nodded and she left the room. He sat back on the couch for a few minutes, letting the adrenaline die down. He knew he was going to have to look presentable pretty quick when he met Catherine and Pete Fielder.

He was so nervous.


	2. A Surprise Dinner Guest

**Chapter Two: A Surprise Dinner Guest**

After the show, when Rinoa had changed into something a little more appropriate, she gathered her parents and led them down the hallway, introducing them to Eddie, Chris, Dean, Kane, Undertaker – who Pete was completely starstruck with – and Bradshaw, who got along great with her father when the topic of football came along. He even offered her father a beer and a cigar. He took the cigar, but turned down the beer. Bradshaw had flashed Rinoa a smile, told her her "old man was all right" and took off to celebrate his victory with Faarooq and Jacqueline.

"Rinoa! Rinoa!"

Her parents watched her shoulders slump and they realized this must have been the Kurt Angle she was talking about. They turned to see him, six foot two, muscular, with brown hair and steel blue eyes. He had already cleaned up from his match against Chris Benoit in which he had emerged victorious, only to be forced to tap out to the Crossface backstage, dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. He looked at her petulantly. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your parents?"

She looked at them nervously and her father put a protective hand on his daughter's arm. He knew better than to create a scene, but he was making it known that he wasn't going to stand by and watch Kurt harass his daughter. "Kurt, this is my mom Catherine and my dad Pete. Mom, Dad, this is Kurt Angle." They all shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. "If you'll excuse us, Kurt, I'm just taking them around to meet people."

"Well, I'll come with you," he replied, his tone assertive. His father cocked an eyebrow and Kurt shot him a stare that dared him to try something. He ushered Rinoa behind him in a subtle manner that Kurt and Rinoa both picked up on.

"It's perfectly fine, Kurt," her father replied. "Rinoa was just going to take us to meet with her friend Shane." He saw something flash in Kurt's eyes at the mention of Shane's name. "Come on, Rinoa," he replied. Rinoa nodded and followed her father, but not before locking eyes with a seething Kurt Angle. As soon as they got out of earshot, Pete spoke. "I understand what you mean, Rinoa. He's just a punk kid." Rinoa smiled.

Shane was sitting in his locker room, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a black button-down shirt, taking deep breaths to steady himself. He couldn't believe he was getting so nervous, but he desperately wanted her parents to like him, even if they didn't think he and Rinoa were dating. He felt like he was striving for approval here.

There was a knock on the door and he took a deep breath. Game time. "Yeah?" he called out, standing to his feet as the door opened. Rinoa stood before him, dressed in a pair of bell bottomed jeans and a white tank top, her hair back in a low ponytail. Behind her were her parents. Shane reasoned she had her father's eyes, but looked like her mother. He smiled.

"Shane, this is my mom Catherine, and my dad Pete," she replied. "Mom, Dad, this is Shane."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you," Shane replied sheepishly, extending his hand to shake their hands. Catherine smiled.

"Likewise, Shane. We've heard so much about you."

He cocked an eyebrow at Rinoa. "All good, I hope."

"Of course," Rinoa replied with a smirk. He smiled. "I thought we'd all go out for dinner. How does that sound?"

"I think it sounds great. I know just the place," he replied with a clap of his hands. "If that's all right with you guys."

"We trust your judgment, Shane," Rinoa's mother told him. "Rinoa's usually good at picking out the good ones." Shane smiled.

"I'm flattered to hear that," he replied, flashing a wink at Rinoa. He gathered his bag. "Come on. We'll get the WCW1 limo and we'll head out for dinner." With all smiles, they all left his locker room, Rinoa's mother telling him how amazing the match was.

The restaurant was a casual place that wasn't incredibly crowded when they walked in. They were seated and given menus. Catherine and Pete sat together at one side of the table and Rinoa and Shane sat on the other side. "That was a hell of a leap tonight," Pete told Shane. "I'm amazed you made it."

"Man, that would have been the worst WrestleMania moment ever," Shane replied with a laugh, "setting up for a big spot and missing. Dad would be in the corner laughing at me."

"I didn't think you were going to get up after you crashed through that table," Catherine replied.

"I can't believe Mom came out," Shane murmured. Rinoa sighed.

"Chris said he had heard she was coming. I was going to tell you, but I didn't want to worry you if it was just a rumor." He flashed her a smile. She was so thoughtful.

"Oh, wow! Isn't this a coincidence!"

Rinoa looked up and rolled her eyes. Standing in front of their table was Kurt Angle. "I'm sure it's a _real _coincidence," Pete replied, his tone dry and snapping with sarcasm. Shane flashed him a stare and smiled. He liked her father already.

"May I take a seat?" he asked politely. Pete nodded, and stood, taking the seat next to Rinoa, so she was wedged between Shane and himself. He saw a look cross Kurt's face, but he took the seat.

"That was quite a match tonight against Chris Benoit, Kurt," Shane replied as the waitress brought their drinks. Kurt ordered a cranberry juice. Shane sipped on his wine, catching eyes with Rinoa's father. They definitely had the same thought in mind.

"I was afraid to blink," Rinoa replied with a nervous smile, staring down at her glass. "I thought I was going to miss something important."

"Gotta watch your back for that Crossface," Pete replied. "You tapped out pretty quick backstage."

"That didn't happen."

"We all saw it." Pete and Shane exchanged knowing smiles. Rinoa saw what was happening. They were goading him into losing his temper. Maybe in hopes of having him kicked out of the restaurant.

"If it wasn't an official match, with an official referee, then it never happened," Kurt replied through clenched teeth. Catherine was taken aback by the dark look that had overtaken the gold medallist. He had seemed so bright and cheerful on that first meeting at the arena.

She leaned over to Pete. "Is this _Cape Fear _or something?" she whispered.

"Close enough," he muttered as Rinoa attempted to pacify Kurt. He sipped his wine as the waitress arrived with dinner while Kurt ordered. His eyes narrowed. He didn't know a lot of things about Rinoa's life in wrestling, but he definitely knew he hated this prick.

When dinner was over, Shane went outside to talk to the limousine driver about taking them out to one more stop. For some social drinks. He was trying his damnedest to hide the fact that he was infuriated.

He knew Kurt Angle had followed them here from the arena, and he knew that everyone was trying not to make a scene. He hated Kurt Angle. Hated the way he looked at Rinoa with those lustful blue eyes, the way he would go out of his way to be two steps behind her at every turn. She constantly felt stalked, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

He heard the restaurant doors open and heard the snap of a lighter. He turned to see Rinoa's father lighting the cigar Bradshaw had given him. He took a silent inhale and exhaled it out into the night, the pale silver smoke dancing towards the heavens.

Shane cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't your wife say you quit?"

"I have one every now and then when I need to put the thoughts in order," he told him. Shane nodded. There was a brief silence for a moment before Pete spoke again. "I don't know what's going on with you and my daughter, and I'm not going to ask. You seem like a good guy and a smart kid, so let's be clear here: I don't care what the hell you're doing with my daughter, but don't hurt her."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Mr. Fielder," Shane replied.

"You keep her protected from that Angle punk," he replied, taking another puff. "I don't like him, and I don't trust him. He lays one hand on my daughter, I want his head on a platter."  
"You'd get the remains," Shane murmured. Pete flashed him a look and smiled.

"My daughter sure seems to like you, Shane. I hope you're keeping an eye on her for us."

"I do the best I can, sir."

"Please. Pete." He took another puff. "Catherine and I worry about her being away from us so much. Especially living in a whole other country. We haven't had the opportunity to see her as much as we would like to since she turned eighteen. It's good to know you and Chris have been looking out for her."

"She's a special woman, Pete. You guys have done a wonderful job with her." He looked back towards the door. "I hate the idea of leaving her back inside with Angle. I'm going to get them and send Angle on his way. I'll be right back." He nodded and Shane went back into the restaurant where Rinoa shot a silent look of desperation at Shane. He smiled and she stood with her mother.

"I'm glad you could join us for dinner, Kurt. I'm just going to get them taken back to the hotel."

"I'll take Rinoa to hers. She's staying at a different one."

"I'm staying with my parents tonight," she replied. Kurt shot her a look and Shane saw her visibly shrink under his gaze. He shot a glare at Kurt, who backed off. He knew Shane wouldn't hesitate to knock his block off in front of people, especially when it came to Rinoa.

"Come on, guys," Shane replied. "Pete's waiting outside to go back." Kurt cocked an eyebrow and he kept his hand possessively on Rinoa's spine as he led her away from Kurt, who stood at the table, fuming inwardly at Shane McMahon. The only thing that man did was cause nothing but trouble.


	3. A Proposal For Rinoa

**Chapter Three: A Proposal for Rinoa**

Shane was laid back on the couch in his locker room the night after WrestleMania, nursing a headache. His father was pissed that Shane had beat his ass the night before and decided to put him up against his former friend the Big Show at Backlash in a Last Man Standing match. To commemorate the date of this unfortunate event, the seven foot athlete came out and chokeslammed Shane onto the canvas. He knew he was in big trouble; his father would see to it that he got beaten within inches of his life for the humiliation Shane had given him in the past few months, first with buying WCW out from under him and defeating him at WrestleMania.

There was a soft knock on the door and Rinoa walked in, dressed in her ring gear; a pair of black vinyl pants and a black halter top, her hair back in a high ponytail. Shane smirked; always with the black. In her hand she held an icepack. He looked at the way the vinyl clung to every curve on her leg and he had to force himself to look down. She was the most beautiful woman he had laid his eyes on.

"I saw what happened," she told him softly, sitting down beside him on the couch. She put the icepack to the back of his head and held it there. "I thought you could use some ice." He looked over at her with a smile. "Are you sure you're okay? Show got some pretty good air with you."

"I'm fine," he replied. "Just a small headache." He leaned forward quickly and kissed her. "It's thoughtful you brought me the ice though."

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right." She put a reassuring hand on his. "My parents really liked you."

"Are they still here?"

She shook her head. "They went home this morning. Dad really liked you."

"Did he?"

"Yeah. They both had a huge talk with me last night. They think you're terrific."

"What do you think?" he asked with a smile. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his softly, pulling back a split second later.

"I couldn't agree more." He placed his hand over hers on the back of his head. She rested her head against his. "Can you believe that stuff Kurt pulled?"

"Your dad hates him."

"So does my mom. She kept thinking he was going to molest me in the restaurant or something. Just the way he was looking at me. Mom said it scared her." She sighed. "It scares me. I try not to be left alone with him because I just get this bad feeling."

"I hate leaving you alone with him," he replied with a sigh. "It's the hardest thing, Rinoa. I can't just come out and tell him to fuck off." She smiled.

"I'm a big girl, Shane. So long as I'm not alone with him, I'm sure I can handle him." He smiled. "What?"

"You didn't come back to the hotel with me last night," he replied, a pout crossing his features. She laughed, removing her hand, leaving him to hold the icepack on his head.

"Mom and Dad wanted to talk to me. And since I don't get to see them much..." She smiled at the pained expression on his face. "I promise you I'll make it up to you. Just make sure the next hotel room has a fire escape for me to leave through." Shane laughed.

"Did I ever tell you how hot you look in vinyl?"

"Oh, my God," she murmured, rolling her eyes. "Is that all you ever think about, Shane?"

"Do I really have to give you an answer?" There was a knock on the door. Rinoa moved a few inches down on the couch. "Yeah?"

The door opened and Test walked in. "Hey, man, you all right? I saw what happened out there."

Shane nodded. "It's not the worst thing I've had happen." Test nodded.

"Touche." He looked over at the attractive brunette on the other side of the couch. "Hey, Rinoa."

"Test."

"Anyways, I just came to let you know that if you wanted some backup for Backlash, I'm your man."

"I appreciate that. Let me come up with something and I'll get back to you on that." Test nodded.

"Keep that ice on your head. It's still a little swollen." Shane flashed him the middle finger and Test chuckled before leaving. Rinoa smiled. He looked over at her, removing the icepack from the back of his head.

"So what's happening with WCW?" she asked. "Now that you've bought it out from under your dad."

Shane sighed. "There is no physical way that we are going to be able to get onto a TV station. The company's reputation for losing money and Dad's cutthroat sense of competition...WCW is more or less doomed, Rinoa. I just wanted to hit him where it hurts." Rinoa gently ran a hand through his hair, checking for a lump on the back of his head. He winced when she found the spot. It was still almost numb from the ice. "I have an idea though, Rinoa. I'm thinking of invading this company. To force Dad to give all this talent a place in the company."

"Why am I sensing a but here, Shane?" she asked. He smiled, turning to her.

"No buts, Rinoa," he promised. "But I do want you to be a part of it. It's completely your decision and I won't hate you if you don't want to. But I know you still love everything WCW did for your career, and the door is always open to have a competent Diva in WCW."

She smiled. But in reality, she was confused. It was a lot to think about. She knew a lot of people wouldn't be surprised if she sided with Shane in the matter. It wasn't a total secret that the two of them were thick as thieves. "I'll think about it and I'll let you know, all right?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "Take your time with it. There's no rush." She smiled. That was the best part about being with Shane. Everything could just flow at its own pace and it was fine. She stood to her feet and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"I'm off to fight my match," she replied. "Are we meeting up after the show?"

"You know it," he replied. "Big Show, Taker and Jericho are coming out tonight."

"That's great. It should be fun."

"Yeah, if our Olympic Pain in the Ass doesn't crash the party again," Shane murmured. Rinoa smiled softly and let her hand trail down to his face.

"Don't worry about him so much, Shane. The guy's harmless." Even she wasn't buying that line...and Shane could sense it, but knew better than to say anything about it. He held onto her hand and kissed it softly.

"Good luck out there against Ivory," he told her softly. She smiled.

"I'll see you tonight, gorgeous." He smiled at her as she left the locker room.

The lights in the arena dimmed down as the red and purple lights began to dance wildly through the crowd. The fans began to chatter and shout in approval.

_"Forfeit the game before somebody else takes you outta the frame, put your name to shame. Cover up your face -you can't run the race, the pace is too fast, it just won't last!"_

The lights kicked up and Rinoa emerged through the curtain, stopping at the top of the ramp to showboat a little bit before making her way down the ramp towards the ring. Rinoa was gaining more and more momentum as a WWF Diva with talent, who was helping the younger women evolve. She wondered how much that would change if she followed through with what Shane wanted.

She knew there was no pressure. If she chose to stay on Vince's side, Shane wouldn't be upset; he'd understand that WCW was a chapter of her life that she had closed off forever. She wondered just how things were going to play out. Would Chris Jericho and the Radicalz rejoin if Shane was at the helm? She wasn't quite sure. But something definitely told her that she should be there supporting him. But she was trying to think of her career at the same time.

The wailing sirens cut off her thoughts as she looked up to the ramp to see Ivory, with Steven Richards and Val Venis behind her. She was still a bit sour after losing the Women's Championship to Chyna the night before. She stepped into the ring and lunged at Rinoa, hitting her quickly with a double leg takedown, mounting her and leveling punch after punch until the referee pulled her off. Rinoa scrambled backwards to the ropes and used the ropes to steady herself to her feet. Ivory charged and Rinoa dropped, pulling the rope with her, sending Ivory tumbling down to the floor below. She kept a wide smile on her face as she made her way back to her feet and backed up as the referee began to make the ten count.

Ivory slid back into the ring and charged at Rinoa, who ducked. When Ivory turned, she began leveling forearm after forearm to Ivory before hitting a float over DDT for a two count. She was frustrated momentarily at Ivory's persistence, but she was drawn back to reality when she was rolled up for a quick two count.

The match called for Rinoa to lose, setting Rinoa on a long losing streak. She wondered if it was because of Vince's suspicions over her and Shane. She wondered if she should join up with Shane. At least she knew her career would be in good hands...she would be too. She smiled at the thought, turning in time to get hit with a hard clothesline, taking her down for a one count.

The big finish of the match came when Val Venis distracted the referee, allowing for Richards to come in and hit her with the Steven Kick. Everything went black and when her eyes opened to the wailing sirens, all she could do was lay on the canvas for a few minutes and rub her jaw. She slowly rolled out of the ring and dropped to her knees on the canvas, trying to steady herself and focus on what was in front of her. All she saw were spots dancing in front of her eyes, She was still dazed. Making her way to her feet, she slowly made her way up the ramp in defeat, rubbing her jaw as the sirens wailed behind her.


	4. Sneaking Out

**Chapter Four: Sneaking Out**

Rinoa rolled over in the morning and curled up against Shane, who was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful, one arm draped around her stomach and the other draped around his stomach, his broad chest moving up and down with each breath.

She hadn't meant to spend the night in Shane's hotel room the night before. They had all gone drinking and around one o'clock, they had stumbled out of the club together, with Shane pleading with her in the taxi to come back to the hotel with him. She had tried to turn him down, but a half hour after he went back to his room, she appeared at his door with a bottle of vodka.

Despite being drunk, Shane had been a gentleman, and hadn't tried anything with Rinoa. Rinoa wasn't in a huge rush to sleep with Shane; sex with Jake hadn't been good by any stretch, and she supposed she may be a little afraid that it was going to be terrible with Shane. She didn't want things to get too complicated with Shane right out of the gate; things were already complicated trying to lie to everyone about their relationship.

She placed a soft kiss on his chest and nestled into him a little bit more. She felt his hand pull her a little closer to him. His eyes opened and he stared down at the top of her head. This was something he knew he could wake up to every morning. "Good morning, Rinoa," he said, ruffling his hand through her hair. She looked up at him, a smile on her face.

"Good morning, Shane," she replied. She wanted to move and get ready for her day, but she wasn't up for it at the moment. The sunlight casted a bright glow across the bed, causing Rinoa to turn her head into his chest to block her eyes. "How's the hangover?" she murmured. He smirked.

"Not as bad as yours."

"I'm not hungover," she murmured, her tone insistent. "I just don't want to move. I'm comfy."

"Well, I have to admit, I really like how you feel under my arm," he replied. "So, have you thought about how we're going to explain this?"

"Meeting at dawn," she murmured.

"What would we be meeting about at dawn?"

"I don't know," she murmured. "You're the smart one. You come up with something." Shane laughed.

"How about...we just say that you were so loaded you crashed out on my couch?"

"How did I get back to your room?"

"You came back after an hour with a bottle of vodka," Shane replied with a smile. He shifted his body a ittle bit and she sat up a little more. She was dressed in nothing more than Shane's WrestleMania jersey, buttoned from the third down and underwear. Her hair was slightly disheveled.

"Did we finish it?"

"No. I talked you out of even taking a drink. Your parents would kill me if I got you hammered." She laughed.

"We don't have to tell them everything." He smiled.

"They like me. I don't want to fuck with a good thing," he replied. She laughed and hugged him tighter.

"They love you...even if they don't think we're dating." There was a knock on the door and she froze, her eyes wide. She scrambled out of the bed and gathered her clothing from the night before, sliding her jeans on. Shane threw on a black muscle shirt, pulling it down past the drawstring on his pajama pants. Shane went over to the door and peeked through the peephole. He sighed, his shoulder slumping as there was another knock.

"It's just Mom, Rinoa. Don't worry...she knows." Her face dropped and she went to ask a followup question, but Shane had opened the door and Linda walked in.

"Good morning, Shane," she said. She looked over and saw Rinoa, dressed in Shane's jersey and blue jeans. She cocked an eyebrow. "A little risky, you two?"

"Mom, she showed up with a bottle of vodka and she crashed. Nothing more, nothing less."

She smiled. "Well, it's nice to know one McMahon male didn't turn out to be a total pig." Rinoa's jaw dropped and Linda smiled. She sat down. "How was your time with your parents, Rinoa?"

"Fine," she replied. "It was great to have them out for WrestleMania."

"Do they know you're dating my son?"

"Mom..."

"It's okay, Shane," Rinoa replied. "No. Unless Shane's said anything else, nobody knows."

"I haven't," he assured her. "Just Mom. I haven't even told Steph. Mom, have you...?"

"No, Shane. This is between the three of us. Your father would lose it if he found out about this." Shane sighed.

"I know."

"You two just be careful. You know how potentially dangerous this is, career wise." Linda replied. Shane and Rinoa nodded. "Anyways, Shane, I wanted to come and tell you that we're going to need you to fly out to Hawaii to smooth out a few things with some promoters there. Lia said she'd be meeting you there to sort some things out." Lia Maivia was the grandmother of the Rock and a wrestling promoter. Shane nodded.

"When am I set to head out for that?"

"Friday. I'm assuming Rinoa is going too?"

Rinoa shook her head. "I have a house show that night. Tag team. Trish and I are facing Jacqueline and Terri."

"Talent cards are subject to change."

"I'm sure the rumors would really die down if I took off with Shane to Hawaii for a business meeting."

"Rinoa's right," Shane replied with a shake of his head. "We're trying to stay low profile, Mom. As it is, Dad's busting my balls over the rumors." She nodded.

"Just think about it. I'm happy for you two." She stood. "I've got to get going. Your father and I have to fly back out to Stamford and answer to the Board about a few things and figure out some pay-per-view buyrates. Call me if you're back in the area, Shane."

"You know I will, Mom," he said, giving her a hug. She looked over at Rinoa.

"Keep a good eye on my son, young lady."

"I will." With that, Linda left the hotel room. Rinoa sat back against the couch. There was silence.

"You're mad, aren't you?" Shane asked, taking a seat beside her. She shook her head. She didn't look amused at all.

She sighed. "I'm not mad, Shane. I just wish you would tell me that you're going to tell somebody about us."

"I never could lie to my mom, Rinoa." He pulled her close, raining kisses on her face. "Forgive me?"

She sighed. "I don't know..." she murmured. He smirked and gave her another kiss, full on the lips, more passionate than she had ever been used to. When he pulled back, she smiled at him. "I guess I can let this go just once..." He smiled. "Just don't let it happen again." She stood to her feet. Shane tried to pull her back, but she planted her feet. "Shane, I have to get back to my room and pack. I have to catch a flight at noon to make it to the SmackDown show tonight. You're going to be there, right?"

"Yeah. Of course. My flight doesn't leave till two though. Want to postpone your flight?"

"Not really. I don't know Chicago all that well. I need the extra time to find the hotel and find the arena." He nodded. "Don't look so glum, sweetie," she replied, running a hand through his hair. "I'll see you tonight. Dinner after the show sound good?"

"Yeah." He kissed her hand. "See you tonight." She flashed him a smile and let herself out of the hotel room.

She got into the elevator and made her way back up to the fourth floor. She couldn't believe herself the night before, coming to Shane's hotel room with a bottle of vodka. She made a silent vow to herself to cut back on the partying. Shane had been a real gentleman and a real friend in talking her out of getting more drunk. She smiled; she could still feel his skin under her fingertips. She couldn't describe how it felt to wake up beside him, his hands wrapped around her.

She made her way to the door of her hotel room to find Kurt Angle leaned against the door. She inwardly groaned, but he didn't notice. "Good morning, Rinoa," he replied. He was dressed in a black T-shirt with blue jeans and a flannel shirt overtop. He had that sleazy smile on his face. Rinoa felt her stomach turning, and she refused to go into her hotel room by herself with Kurt.

"Good morning, Kurt. We're stalking early this morning, aren't we?"

He laughed and she flashed him a smirk. "You didn't come back to your hotel room last night," he replied. She was visibly creeped out by his observation. Had he been spying on her?

"I don't remember much of last night," Rinoa replied. She heard a low whistle escape his lips.

"Time to cut back on the drinking. So who's bed did you end up in?"

"That's hardly a question to ask..."

"Rinoa!"

She turned her head and saw the Undertaker walking towards her. In his hand he held a vodka bottle. He looked at Kurt. "You left this in my room last night." She shot him a grateful look and took the bottle. "You getting ready to pack up?"

"Yeah."

"I'll give you a hand. Did you want to catch a ride to the airport with Kane and I?"

"Well actually..." Kurt cut in, but was promptly silenced by the Deadman Stare.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is your name Rinoa, Kurt?" Taker's eyes burned a hole into Kurt's. Kurt shook his head. "Then keep your mouth closed and run along." Kurt shot a look at Rinoa and made his way down the hallway. She finally slid her keycard in the door. "I thought that's what you were waiting for," he replied with a smirk crossing his features. She nodded.

"Thanks. I owe you big."

"Don't worry about it, Rinoa," he replied, closing the door.

"So how did you find out about Angle?"

"I know all, I see all. Decade here...you catch things." He smiled. "So did you want to know where I got the vodka."

"I know where you got the vodka, so shush." He laughed. "How's your wife?"

"Great," he replied. "Honeymoon stage hasn't worn off yet."

"It helps when you're away so much," she replied with a laugh, throwing her duffel bag onto the bed. She began rifling through her clothing and throwing it into the bag.

"What about you? You have anybody you go home to?"

"No."

"That's too bad. I'm sure you'd make somebody really happy."

"Well, thanks," she replied with a smile. "That means a lot to hear."

"So what do you think about this WCW shit Shane's pulling?" he asked.

"Well, Mean Mark Callous, I could ask you the same thing."

"Fuck right off, Rinoa," he growled, a chuckle escaping his lips. "I'm just asking because you were a big part of WCW's women's division and because Shane's your _friend._" She definitely caught the emphasis on the word friend. She shrugged.

"I think it's great if he wants to try and get some WCW stars some time on TV. Are you possessive over WWF TV time."

"It's a competitive business, Rinoa. You know that just as well as I do." She nodded, throwing a pair of shoes into her bag. "So can I ask why you were in Shane's hotel room last night?"

"I showed up at his room with the bottle looking to party. I was smashed, I crashed on the couch." She hoped he wasn't perceptive enough to point out that there had been no blankets on the couch. She shook her head. "I hope I didn't embarass myself too badly. I don't even remember how the hell I got to his room." Undertaker nodded.

"Tsk, tsk, young lady. You gotta cut back on the drinking."

"You sound like Kurt."

"I'll pretend I never heard that." She smiled and he continued to help her pack. "That guy gives you any more shit, you come to me and you come to Kane. Don't deal with it on your own." He smirked. "Never hesitate. I wouldn't mind knocking the fucker's block off." She smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind. But he's harmless."

"Right now he's harmless," he told her as she zipped her duffel bag. "He's harmless because you haven't had a shot to be alone with him. You just watch yourself. I've seen guys like him before and it can get dangerous for you."

"I appreciate the concern," she replied, slinging the bag over her shoulder and leaving her keycard on the nightstand. "But for now I'm fine. If anything happens, I'll speak up." He smiled. She knew her pecking order, and he knew she wouldn't be going to Vince to complain about a former champion. But he hoped that she knew the difference between what was simple flirtation and straight on harassment. Because Kurt wasn't far from crossing the line, and he knew it.

He figured Rinoa did, too.


	5. The Giant Killer

**Chapter Five: The Giant Killer**

Rinoa entered the arena at Backlash and took a deep breath. She didn't see Kurt Angle around. She assumed he was busy. Fine by her. Rinoa's big concern was with Shane's Last Man Standing match against the Big Show later on in the night. She had seen the "fairy tale" he had read to Big Show and although she found it funny, it just looked like Big Show was pissed.

It looked like a decent card, even if she wasn't on it. She just had to do a pretaped segment where she had a run-in with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley yet again over Chris Jericho, who was facing William Regal in a Duchess of Queensbury rules match. Whatever the hell that was, Rinoa didn't know. Kurt Angle had Chris Benoit in an Ultimate Submission match and the Brothers of Destruction were taking on the Two Man Power Trip of Steve Austin and Triple H, with Stephanie undoubtedly at ringside were the main event.

Shane's offer of joining WCW was still on the table. She knew he was planning a fullscale invasion of his father's company. She didn't think it was a good idea to go back to the company she had walked out of, even if Shane was at the helm. Anyway, she gathered that trying to quell relationship rumors would be futile if she followed him blindly into an invasion where he was going to get defeated. Of course, she'd never tell him that. She would stand by and support him as much as she could without seeming like a turncoat.

She felt the familiar hands pull her arm and into the locker room she went. She only had time to drop her bag before Shane's lips descended on hers with a fierce passion she had never known. His hands trailed down her arms, resting on her hips as she moved her hands up his chest, to his shoulders, clutching on tightly for fear that her knees would buckle. His kiss was leaving her breathless, her head spinning like a hurricane. She pulled back.

"You really need to start warning me before you start pulling at me," she breathed, leaning her head back against the door.

"Sorry," he replied, leveling a kiss on her neck, below her earlobe that made her take a sharp intake of breath. He smiled. "I needed a kiss for good luck. I think I'm going to need all the luck I can get."

"Promise me you'll be careful out there."

"As careful as I can be with a 500 pound giant coming at me," he assured her. She saw the expression on his face and laughed.

"Well, don't let him break you apart too badly," she replied, a pout crossing her beautiful features. "I don't want to spend the night putting you back together."

"I don't care either way...I just want to spend the night with you," he replied, kissing her forehead. He pulled back, staring at her. She looked beautiful, dressed in a pair of black bell bottoms and a red V-necked shirt, her hair down around her face in soft waves, her lips swollen from his kiss. He wanted to kiss her again. "I've got to go see Test," he told her softly. "You'll be at my room tonight?"

"You know it," she replied softly, stroking his hair. "I love you, Shane. Be careful out there." With that she was gone, and Shane was dumbfounded in the locker room. She hadn't said that to him before, and there was something about the way she looked when she said it that made him want to hold onto her and not let her go for anything.

A harsh reality hit him like a shot in the face. He hadn't said it back. Had she given him the chance to say it back? Her concern for his well being really touched him. He sighed; he knew those three words had the power to complicate everything, and yet it just felt like she was confirming everything he knew she felt for him. He felt it for her, too.

He shook his head. As much as he loved Rinoa Fielder, he realized he had a five hundred pound giant to focus on. In a Last Man Standing match, no less. He shut off the lights and left his locker room. He needed to go talk to Test.

Rinoa was embarassed with herself. She hadn't meant to come off so clingy. But it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders when she had told him that she loved him. And his match against the Big Show tonight scared the hell out of her. It surprised her how strong her feelings were for him. She couldn't remember a time where she had told Jake that she had loved him and he had just remained silent. And so had Shane.

Was it too soon to say anything? She shook her head. It had been about four months. She knew how she was feeling at this point. Maybe it was because she had left so quickly, feeling the embarassment burn her cheeks. She just hoped regardless of his silence that he felt the same way too. Because they were playing a dangerous game. She knew that when Vince found out about her and his son, he was going to freak. She just hoped he didn't leave her in the dust to bear the brunt of it.

Shane lay in the trainer's room after his match. He won; he wasn't quite sure how the hell he had won. The last thing he really remembered was jumping off of the TitanTron. Everything was hazy after that. He thought he hit his head on the landing. His eyes squeezed shut as he heard the door open and close. His head was pounding; he was pretty sure he had given himself a concussion. When he opened his eyes, a wide smile broke across his handsome features.

Rinoa was standing over him, but the look on her face told him that she wasn't too proud of his accomplishment. "You are one suicidal motherfucker, you know that?" she told him. Shane smirked; she didn't swear often, but she knew how to get the point across when she did. She shook her head. "Out of all the stupid things you could have done, you practically had to kill yourself. Do you have any idea how it feels watching you jump from stupid ass heights?"

"The fans enjoyed it," he murmured in his defense. She threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"If the fans wanted you to jump off a bridge, would you?"

"Okay, now you're sounding like Stephanie." Rinoa laughed. "Only nicer." She shook her head. She just couldn't stay angry at him. Even though her heart had been in her throat and she had suffered an instant panic attack watching him take that leap. When he hadn't gotten up right away, she had been afraid that he had just died on camera.

Shane propped himself up. She was quickly at his side, making sure he didn't get up too fast. The door opened and she turned to see Vince standing behind her.

"Rinoa. Why shouldn't I be surprised that you're already here," he mused. Rinoa flushed with embarassment.

"I won, Dad. Guess you'll have to wait another day to humiliate me," Shane bit out bitterly. Vince chuckled. Whether or not Shane wanted to admit it, they were just like each other.

"I'll get you, Shane," he replied with a sick smile.

"Well, good luck with that." Vince nodded. Rinoa thought he saw some concern for his son in there, but it was gone in an instant and he was out of the trainer's room. The door opened again and Linda walked in, shooting a death stare at the back of her husband.

She looked over at Shane. "Shane Brandon McMahon, are you out of your mind?" she snapped. "I thought you got this out of your system last summer!"

"Mom..."

"Shane, I thought you were dead!"

"Mom, I've got a headache...could you keep the voice down?" Shane gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "I did what I had to and I'm okay." She shook her head.

"It just scares the hell out of me, Shane. And I'm sure it scares Rinoa, too." Rinoa nodded in agreement and he smiled.

"It's always flattering to have two beautiful women worry about me," he said with a smile. "And I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. I'm sore, but that's nothing a night of relaxation can't fix."

"Rinoa, are you going back to his hotel room?"

"He wants me to."

"I want you to as well. Keep an eye on him. His eyes look a little wide; I think he may have a concussion. Just make sure that when he falls asleep he wakes up." Rinoa nodded.

"I can do that, Linda," she replied.

"Good. I'll see you two on Raw tomorrow night," she replied. She kissed her son's forehead. "Take it easy. No more big jumps for you." Shane chuckled and his mother offered a goodbye to Rinoa before leaving. She helped him off of the trainer's table.

"Come on. Let's get you back to the hotel."

"Rinoa?"

"Yeah, Shane?"

He leaned forward into her ear. "I love you, too," he whispered. She flashed him a smile and helped him out into the hallway.


	6. A Well Deserved Day Off

**Chapter Six: A Well Deserved Day Off**

"Rinoa, you don't have to cater to me like I'm some kind of invalid. I'm fine!"

Rinoa flashed him a smile and sat down beside him on the bed. "Your mother told me to take care of you," she replied. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't keep my word?"

"A hot one."

"Ouch. That kind of stings."

"Oh, for...Rinoa, you know what I mean."

The night before had been terrific for Shane. Rinoa had made him a hot bath to soothe his muscles that still spasmed after his plunge. After that, she gave him some Tylenol for his headache and laid him out on the bed for a massage. He felt like he was taking advantage of her. She didn't need to be lavishing him with so much attention, getting him coffee and breakfast and dinner and keeping him comfortable. She had more or less kept him bed-ridden, despite his insistence that it was only a concussion, a mild one at that.

She nestled up beside him and he draped an arm over her. "You don't have to take care of me like this. Frankly, you should be kicking my ass and telling me that I brought this on myself."

"You did...but I promised your mom I'd take care of you. Have I done a good job?"

He smiled. "You've done a great job." He leaned his head in and kissed her softly for a few seconds before the kiss gave way to something more. His tongue moved with ease as her lips parted, his hands pulling her against him more. He pulled her over more until she was straddling him, her hands placed on his chest as his hands roamed over her waist and her hips, pulling her tightly against him. She pulled back, trying to catch her breath as his lips roamed to her neck. Her eyes closed and her head fell back to allow him more access as she struggled for air.

"Shane..." she murmured. There was a knock on the door. They stopped. She could see the dismay on Shane's face. She climbed off of him. "We should get that."

"Do we have to?" he whispered. "We could just play it like we're not here." The pounding was persistent. She motioned to his pajama pants.

"You might want to hide that before I answer the door." Shane flushed with embarassment and she stuck her tongue out at him before making her way to the door. Shane settled under the blankets as she opened the door. It was Chris Jericho.

"Rinoa...what are you doing here?"

"Linda asked me to stay with Shane because of his injuries last night."

"What fucking injuries?" Chris taunted with a roll of his eyes. "Shane, quit being a pussy."

"I'm not!" he insisted. "It's these fucking women! One small jump and suddenly I'm an invalid!"

"You could have been," Rinoa fired back, her tone defensive. Chris and Shane cocked an eyebrow. "What brings you here?"

"I came to check up on the Boy Wonder here," Chris replied. "That was some freaky shit you pulled last night. Do you even remember the finish?"

"Not after the jump," Shane confessed. "All I remember was someone telling me afterwards that I made it up before the ten count. How, I'm not even sure."

"Your boy Test gave you a hand in that department," Chris replied. "Because both you and Show weren't going to make it up before ten." Chris shook his head. "You've got a lot of balls, man. No way in hell would you ever catch me doing stupid shit like that."

"I'm the boss' son," Shane replied. "I've got to do something that sets me apart." Rinoa shook her head. There was just no making him see that there was something so inherently dangerous about what he was doing.

"I got a lot of respect for you, Shane. You're a ballsy son of a bitch." Chris looked at Rinoa. "If he ever jumps off a bridge, Rinoa, for the love of God, please don't follow suit."

"Do I look like an idiot, Chris?" she asked. Shane's face burrowed into a pout.

"I resent that."

"You would," she bit back. Chris was amused. They were like an old married couple or something. "Do you know what the game plan is for Raw now?"

"No. But I've heard Vinnie Mac is seething that he didn't get the one up on Shane O'Mac over there, so you might want to be careful, Rinoa. There's a good chance he's going to want to punish you and punish Trish. He's in a foul mood right now."

"Don't I know it," Shane mused.

"Why me, though?" Rinoa asked. She sighed; she knew the answer perfectly well. It was definitely guilt by association. Vince wasn't too keen on the idea that Rinoa and Shane were together so much anyways. She could sense that scornful eye he would give her every time he passed her in the hallways. She asked for it though, when she decided to pursue something with Shane.

"Anyways, Shane, when you're done resting up like a pussy, we're all going down for some drinks, so you can join us."

"Fuck off, Jericho; I'm not a pussy. Let's see you take a fucking dive."

"Fuck that shit. I'm not stupid." He winked at Rinoa. "I expect to see you down there tonight, Rinoa," he told her. She smiled and he bid them farewell before taking off. Rinoa sighed.

"You going to go drinking?"

"I'm not really into that tonight," she replied, climbing on top of the covers. She rested her head on top of his. "What say we just order in some pizza and watch some TV?"

"I think that sounds great," he replied, giving her a soft kiss. "Just you and me tonight...I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day off."


	7. A Difficult Decision

**Chapter Seven: A Difficult Decision**

Rinoa was sitting in Shane's locker room, waiting for him to get back from tending to some WCW stuff. She was nervous, wringing her hands. She was dressed in a black shirt with a sweetheart neckline and belled sleeves with a pair of blue jeans and thick heeled boots. She wasn't competing that night; any Divas action was devoted solely to the ongoing conflict between Chyna and Lita.

Rinoa didn't care much for Chyna, but she wasn't about to go right out and say it. Chyna had a superiority complex that rubbed a lot of the girls the wrong way. Especially when she had mocked Trish Stratus in the opening of the book. Of course, she wasn't named, but what other Diva wore boots and a cowboy hat?

Rinoa had been thinking a lot about her relationship with Shane lately. It was still in the honeymoon phase, and although they were definitely affectionate, they weren't intimate. He was more than contented to fall asleep with her in his arms, and not trying anything. She knew this was a huge process for him as well; her being the first relationship he had since Amanda had died. She didn't want to rush him and he didn't want to rush her.

She knew that secrets couldn't last forever; that there was a great shot that Vince was going to find out. It was inevitable. Sooner or later, Vince was going to know that his son was screwing around with one of the Divas. And Rinoa definitely dreaded the day she had to face Vince. She knew there was no way he was going to be happy about this. She was amazed that Linda had been so happy about it.

She decided to get a bottle of water and went out to the catering area to grab one. She took a deep breath. She spotted Kurt Angle approaching her out of the corner of her eye. "Rinoa!" she heard him call out. She contemplated ignoring him. She turned to walk away and crashed into the hard chest of the Undertaker.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"Not yet," she replied. "I absolutely hate this guy though. He's like a gnat."

"I know, Rinoa," he told her, shooting a trademark Deadman's Stare at Kurt, who just walked past Rinoa, offering her a hello. "I notice when the guys are around, he more or less leaves you alone."

"Yeah. Too bad for when I'm arriving at the arena, though."

"Have you ever spoken to Shane about traveling with him at least?"

"Different coasts, Deadman," she replied with a smile. "Anyway, I don't want to be a bother. I'm sure Shane needs his space. I suffocate that poor guy." He laughed.

"I don't think Shane minds," he replied. "He really seems to enjoy spending time with you."

"I hope so," she replied. Undertaker didn't catch onto her tone. He just smirked.

"Kane and I have to deal with some Power Trip bullshit," he told her. "So, I'll see you around. Take it easy, and remember – anybody gives you problems, let me know."

"I will, Taker," she replied with a smile. He gave her a tap on the arm.

"You're a sweet girl, Rinoa," he replied. She smiled and he stalked past her. She went to walk away and turned, crashing into Stephanie.

"Jesus!" Rinoa breathed, jumping in shock. "Sorry, Steph," she replied sheepishly.

"Hey, it's okay," she replied, cocking an eyebrow. She was dressed in a black tube top and a navy miniskirt with stilettos, her hair still crimped, her makeup heavy. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Rinoa replied with a laugh. "Just gave me a bit of a start, that's all." Stephanie smiled. "How are you tonight?"

"Great. Looking forward to helping the guys put one over on Taker and Kane." It was no secret Stephanie was still pissed off over Kane taking her hostage and suspending her over a stairwell. It was Taker's way of getting Regal to grant him a match against Triple H at WrestleMania. He had been forced to comply, knowing Mr. McMahon wouldn't like his little girl getting thrown around by the big guys. Rinoa smiled.

"Just keep yourself at a safe distance this time around," Rinoa replied. Stephanie nodded.

"I'm way ahead of you this time." They laughed. "Anyway, I've got to go talk to Hunter and Steve. I'll see you around."

"Bye, Steph." She grabbed a water bottle and they went their separate ways. By the time Rinoa arrived in the locker room, Shane was sitting there, a bottle of water in his hand. His eyes looked up at her and his face contorted into a wide smile.

He stood to his feet and kissed her forehead. "Rinoa," he said, unable to pull the smile from his face. "You look terrific."

"How was your WCW meeting?"

"Fine," he replied, pulling her down onto the couch. She curled up beside him. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's about this WCW thing," she confessed. He nodded, stroking her hair. "I know you would love it if I joined up with you...but if it's all good by you, I would love to just stay out of it and in the WWF realm of things."

Shane nodded. "I'm fine with that," he told her. "You do what's right for you and I'll still be here."

"Thanks, Shane."

"Any runins with Angle tonight?"

"No. Taker came and talked to me, and that was about it. I think when the guy sees the Deadman, he knows better than to talk to me." Shane nodded.

"I should warn you now, Rinoa...whatever happens, there's a good chance some of the guys are going to treat you differently for nothing more than the fact that you're friends with me," he told her. "Anything goes wrong, go to Taker or come to me."

"Everything will be fine," she assured him. But even she wasn't too sure.


	8. Judgment Day Approaches

**Chapter Eight: Judgment Day Approaches**

Rinoa entered the arena, dressed in a black sundress with a leather jacket unzipped. Her hair was back in a high ponytail, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She looked well-rested and fresh faced as she made her way through the halls, waving and smiling and chattering with technicians and road agents. She had a match against Chyna that night; her first time in the ring with the first ever female Intercontinental Champion. Rinoa wasn't looking forward to it. She hated the fact that Chyna hated her so much and they had never even exchanged words with one another.

Shane wasn't at the arena that night; dealing with some other contracts for WCW athletes. Rinoa kind of wished he was there; she wouldn't have the opportunity to see him until at least Judgment Day.

She spotted Trish Stratus down the hall, talking to Molly Holly. Both weren't yet in their ring gear; Trish dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt while Molly was dressed in navy bell bottoms and a black spaghetti strapped top. They were chattering wildly about who was going to win between Lita and Chyna at Judgment Day that weekend. Rinoa knew her place in this match. Chyna was going to squash her to build up momentum in her match against Lita without directly squashing Lita. They'd save that till the pay-per-view.

Kurt Angle spotted Rinoa making her way down the hall and he called out to her. He watched her stop, watched her body visibly stiffen and she turned to face him as he approached, that wide smile still on his face. "Rinoa, I saw you were up against Chyna tonight. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. If she's a professional, I shouldn't have any problems." Rinoa was already worried about Chyna taking liberties with her in the ring, but she wasn't about to let Kurt Angle know that.

"You seen Shane yet?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No. I don't think he's here."

"I heard he's dating a Diva," Kurt replied. Rinoa felt her heart jump, but it was nothing Kurt Angle picked up on.

"Really? I'm pretty sure Vince isn't going to like that," she replied casually. She was visibly getting uncomfortable.

"Rinoa! Hey – we need you over here to settle something!"

She turned to see Trish, who winked at her and Rinoa flashed her a look of gratitude. She turned back to Kurt. "I've got to go. Trish beckons." Before Kurt could say anything, Rinoa disappeared.

"Jesus, do I owe you, Trish," Rinoa breathed as she made it to the two Divas. Molly shot a look at Kurt's retreating figure.

"He's really latched onto you, hasn't he?" Molly asked. Rinoa nodded.

"It's really starting to creep me out. Shane doesn't like it either."

"What's going on with you and Shane? You're always together," Trish replied. Rinoa shook her head.

"We were months ago, too. And the same thing that's happening then is happening now...nothing," she added. She was pretty sure the two Divas didn't believe her, but the last thing she wanted was everything getting back to Vince. He'd have a heart attack.

"Come on, Rinoa," Trish replied, staring past her at Kurt's staring figure from the catering table. "Let's go get you dressed up for your match with Chyna...he's still watching," she added with a whisper. Rinoa could feel a twinge of fear shooting up her spine. She knew this was getting serious. But there wasn't a whole lot hat she could do about it. Not until Kurt tried something. For now he was just an annoying acquaintance. Whether she or Shane liked it or not.

The match with Chyna was a total squash and Chyna went out of her way to prove her dominance over Rinoa. Nevermind the fact that Rinoa was an experienced female wrestler; Chyna was determined to stay the top Diva at WWF and she dropped Rinoa hard with a body press. Rinoa had sprained her wrist trying to brace for the impact. It was her left wrist; not her writing hand or anything, so she wasn't too concerned, but it still pissed her off that Chyna was so careless. But she knew what was happening; Chyna was trying to prove a point to the young Divas. The ones she felt needed to "keep their heads down and just do their job and hope they could make it to the same level as her". The thought process pissed Rinoa off. She had made a smart crack about Rinoa and Shane when she had stepped through the curtain. Rinoa had looked at her and said, "Oh, Chyna? You're still here? I thought your fifteen minutes went up in 1999." Chyna had shot her a glare and Rinoa had stormed past, intentionally brushing against her roughly, before going to Dr. Rios to get an icepack and a splint for her wrist.

Judgment Day was going to be busy. She was doing an autograph signing at the Virgin Megastore with Trish, which she was looking forward to.

Trish entered the Divas locker room and looked over at Rinoa. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Chyna's a bitch."

"Well, word is after Judgment Day, she's gone."

"So they're putting the Strap on Lita?"

"I'm not too sure what they're doing. I saw that drop. Fucking careless. Are you all right?"

"Just a sprain. I probably won't miss any ring time since I'm not slated to compete until next week."

"That's good to hear," Trish replied, sitting down. They fell silent. "Well?"

"Well, what, Stratus?"

"He's a good kisser isn't he?"

"Who?"

"Shane."

"Trish!" Rinoa was shocked.

"Oh, come off it. I caught you guys a couple days ago. You're lucky nobody else did," she added. "Especially Angle."

"Did you tell him?"

"God no," Trish replied. "I don't like being around him any more than you do."

"You haven't told Vince, right?"

"Vince and I aren't exactly on speaking terms right now," Trish confessed. "And I'm enjoying every second of freedom it's given me." Rinoa smiled. It was happy to see Trish happy and out of that situation. "Anyways, you don't have to worry about me saying anything. I'm so happy for you. Shane seems like a great guy."

"He is," Rinoa confessed, keeping her tone hushed. "But I'm not really into talking about it here." Trish nodded, understanding.

"Have you said anything about what Angle's been doing, Rinoa?" Trish asked. "He's getting a little more possessive."

"If he tries anything, I'll go to Vince or Shane," Rinoa replied. "But Taker and Kane are watching my back and so is Chris."

"You have to admit that sounds serious enough if you have Taker and Kane watching your back."

"Trish, I appreciate your concern, but it's okay right now. And if he does try anything, there's enough people to hit the brakes."

Trish still looked apprehensive. "Okay, Rinoa, but trust me here: if Kurt Angle wants to get you alone, he will get you alone."

"What if I'm never alone?"

"Rinoa, you don't get it; Kurt Angle always finds a way." She stood. "I've got to get ready to do some stuff with Molly. I'll talk to you later." Rinoa nodded; Trish's words had shaken her, and she was struggling not to show it. Trish left the Divas locker room and Rinoa laid her head back on the couch. The entire situation was scaring her, and it seemed to be getting more and more complicated.


	9. A Weird Autograph Experience

**Chapter Nine: A Weird Autograph Experience**

Rinoa awakened the following day to find Shane getting into his suit. She was mesmerized watching him move, dressed head to toe in black. She smiled; he had surprised her the night before, coming in late and showing up at her hotel room. They had curled up together, watched a movie and slept.

He rushed over to her and gave her a kiss. "I've got to run to a meeting with Stephanie," he told her. "Have a great time at your autograph signing," he told her, "and I'll meet you back here for dinner." She nodded and he kissed her again before taking off. Rinoa laid back in the bed for a few minutes before reaching for her robe. Wrapping it around herself, she disappeared into the bathroom to get ready for her day.

When she had finished taking a shower, she changed into a baby pink T-shirt and blue jeans with a skull embroidered on the back in rhinestone. She styled her hair and fixed her makeup in a natural way before sliding on a denim jacket and heeled boots. She had to run over to the Virgin Megastore to do the autograph signing.

She made her way out the door and down to the lobby. She got into the car and made her way to the store for her eleven AM signing.

Rinoa arrived through a back door. Trish was already there, dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top. They shook hands, smiling. "Hey, Trish, great to see you."

"You look absolutely radiant," Trish told her. "Shane-O's got to be doing wonders for you." Rinoa laughed.

"Please tell me you haven't told anybody about that."

"No, I haven't. But I'm pretty sure everybody knows about it." She shook her head. "Kurt Angle's been asking me a lot of questions about it. He called me up the other night an interrogated the hell out of me."

Rinoa had no time to really voice her displeasure at the situation as two men approached and they were led out to the main area, where hundreds of fans were already lined up down the block. They sat down at the table and the fans came along to sign autographs. Rinoa saw a lot of photographs from her WCW days and she thanked each fan for following her career. It was genuinely humbling. A few asked her about Shane, saying they had read reports on the internet that they were dating. Rinoa laughed and told them she was good friends with him. Trish laughed at the answer every time. "Trish, would you stop that?" Rinoa replied, but the laughter had overtaken her as well.

Several hours later, there was a small lull in the signing. Trish had gone to get herself some water, and was going to get Rinoa a bottle as well. Rinoa was signing a picture when a shadow overcasted her. She looked up to see a man with a hat and sunglasses, dressed in a Kurt Angle T-shirt and blue jeans. He was built. She cocked an eyebrow and felt that familiar chill crawl up her spine.

"Kurt?" she asked. He smirked and pulled off his sunglasses. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a match tonight?"

"Talking to you since you won't give me any time."

"What? Kurt, seriously – you've had the time to talk to me," she replied. There was a moment of awkward silence. "Should I be signing this picture?" Her tone was dry. He smirked.

"Yeah. Let's just be silly." A small smile cracked her face. "You have a beautiful smile." Rinoa thought he had beautiful eyes, but she wasn't about to say anything to him about it. She was happily involved with Shane McMahon. She didn't want to give Kurt the wrong idea either. He scared her, he creeped her out.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"You should smile more often. What, Shane make you that miserable?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Angle. Here's your picture." She slid it over to him and peered down the line. "I'd hurry and get out of here. I see a huge gaggle of fans coming up. Guy your size – you'll be made in no time." He scowled and put on his sunglasses before stalking off with his picture in hand.

Trish returned and handed her a water bottle. "Who's that drink of water?"

"Angle."

"Eew." They laughed. Trish cocked an eyebrow. "So what was he doing here?"

"Had me sign a picture for him." Trish laughed. "I'm serious. I think he's trying to use me to get to Shane or something." A few fans approached and they signed autographs.

"Watch for Angle," Trish advised Rinoa when another herd of fans had died down. "Trust me. I managed him. He looks like an idiot, but he's a cold, calculating idiot." Rinoa nodded. "I'm serious, Noa. He'll do anything to make sure he has the upper hand." She nodded; it was that thought process that really scared the hell out of her.

"I'm pretty sure Shane knows that too, Trish. He's been very overprotective over the entire situation. I can't believe he jumped so fast from Stephanie to me."

"I doubt Steph would have left Hunter. Married for a few years then Angle comes along? Give me a break. I could say a lot about Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, but you'll never hear me say she's stupid."

"I'll agree with you there." Rinoa smiled. "There's something so sleazy about Kurt Angle...I just can't put my finger on it. He looks at me and I can't figure out whether or not I need a tetanus shot or a shower." Trish nodded. "So, how's that ankle injury treating you, Trish?" Trish had injured her ankle on Monday during a match.

"It's going all right.You have to take the good with the bad sometimes." Rinoa nodded; she couldn't count the injuries she had sustained over the years.

When their autograph signing was over, they decided to go for coffee. They stopped off at Starbuck's and had lattes while talking about the entire Invasion thing that was brewing since Shane had bought WCW. "So how is Shane with you hanging out with us WWF Divas? Are you going to defect if an invasion is scaled?" Trish inquired.

"Shane has no issue with it. I told him I wasn't going to 'defect', so to speak and he's fine with it."

"So he is planning an invasion?"

"Between you and I...yeah, I think he is."

They fell silent and Trish sipped her coffee. "So..."

Rinoa went silent. She stared at Trish oddly. "What?"

"You're absolutely glowing. Let's be honest. How is he?"

"Shane? Great."

"Noa, I meant, how is he in the sack?"

Rinoa nearly spit out her coffee. "Oh, my God – Trish!" A blush began to crawl up her neck. Trish laughed.

"We haven't, Trish. Not yet anyway?"

"Really?" Trish cocked an eyebrow, unable to keep the surprise from crossing her face. "You're dating one of the hottest guys in the business and you haven't fucked him yet? Noa, what's the hold up?"

"There's just no rush. That's all. It'll happen when it happens."

"Well, at least it's good you're not in any rush," Trish replied with a roll of her eyes. "You're not a virgin, are you?"

"No, Trish. There's just no rush. Why is that so hard to believe?" Trish shrugged.

"I don't know. With a guy like Shane O'Mac...I figured it would have happened already."

"Can we drop the subject of my sex life?"

"We're actually talking about your lack of a sex life," Trish retorted. Rinoa sipped her coffee.

"Touche."

When Shane returned later that night, Rinoa was waiting for him, dressed in a blue silk robe with a matching nightie underneath. She had clearly just gotten out of the shower, her hair wet, plastered against her face. She looked incredible. Shane smiled, dropping his briefcase of contracts on the floor beside him. He took off his suit jacket, revealing a crisp black shirt. He smiled. "I could come home to this anytime," he told her. He approached her and he kissed her intensely. She leaped onto him and he carried her over to the bed, sitting her down softly on the mattress. The scent of soap and shampoo was intoxicating. His lips went to her neck and her earlobe. "How was the autograph signing?" he inquired, nibbling at her ear.

"Good," she told him, a small giggle overtaking her.. "Went for coffee with Trish afterwards." She decided to omit the part where Kurt Angle crashed the autograph signing. She didn't want him to be upset with her over something she couldn't control. More than that, she didn't want to panic him.

Later that night, when Shane curled up beside her in bed, he rolled her over to face him and gazed into her eyes. "You seem a little distracted tonight," he told her, kissing her forehead. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just been a long day," she replied.

"Tell me about it. It's going to be a long few months," he replied. She kissed his forehead.

"You can handle it, Shane," she replied. "You're a smart guy." He smiled.

"I know it seems like it," he replied, "but my dad has a sixth sense about this business. He lives it. He has for so long now. I'm still more or less a novice."

"You're a fourth generation McMahon," Rinoa reminded him. "You have a natural instinct when it comes to the business." Shane nodded.

"I love you," he said, curling up against her tighter. "You know how to put things in perspective."

"Just get some sleep," she replied. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow, what with Hunter getting injured and King of the Ring coming up." He nodded and closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers.


	10. Cry Wolf

**_A/N: To my two loyal reviewers lol...I am so very, very sorry for the lack of updates...between battling the flu, doing last minute preps for school next week and working erratic shifts, I haven't had much time. I know this one is kind of filler, but King of the Ring will pick things up. Thanks for all your patience. _**

**Chapter Ten: Cry Wolf**

King of the Ring was approaching fast, and with Triple H out of the picture it seemed up in the air as to who was going to win. Triple H had torn his quad at Judgment Day when he had planted his foot wrong in a tag team match. Stephanie had taken a leave of absence to tend to her husband, leaving just Shane against his parents in his WCW acquisition/invasion. To his credit, Shane had been keeping her out of his plans, just taking the time to spend nights with her, leaving the business outside of the hotel room. But she could see the daunting task of running a corporation was having an effect on him.

Shane and Rinoa were standing in the hallway, talking about Hunter's injury, when Kurt Angle approached. Shane pulled Rinoa closer to him, ushering a hand over her stomach protectively as Kurt shot him a stare. King of the Ring was in two weeks, and Shane knew that the word around the locker room was that Kurt was going to win his second consecutive King of the Ring tournament. "Hey, Shane. Rinoa." Just his name on her lips sent weird chills up her spine.

"Angle. Don't you have a match tonight?" Shane asked. He nodded.

"Main event. How about you?" Shane knew that was supposed to be a shot at him, but he shrugged it off.

"I'm working on some details to take over to Canada in about a month, so I'm too busy to compete tonight." Kurt nodded.

"How about you, Rinoa?"

"Not tonight. I'm competing next week."

"Oh. Well. You want to get a coffee after the show?"

"Not tonight, Kurt. I have a headache." Shane bit his lip to stifle the laughter that threatened to overtake him. Kurt didn't seem to get it.

"Maybe some other time then," he replied. He gave Shane a tap on the arm. "See you guys around." He disappeared down the hallway, shooting a longing look at Rinoa. Shane turned around and looked at her. She looked visibly upset.

"You okay?"

"I'm catching the worst vibes off of this guy." He nodded. He was becoming more and more unsettled by Kurt's attention towards her. She shook her head.

"You didn't tell me about the meeting in Canada," she replied with a smile. He cocked an eyebrow.

"I didn't? I could have sworn I did," he murmured. "It's nothing too big. Just setting up this WWF Ambassador thing across the border. I've been going nuts trying to get a good presentation ready."

"You're Shane McMahon. Your father runs this company. I'm pretty sure that's all that you really need. You know a lot about this business, Shane. Just go with that."

He smiled and looked around. When he saw no one was around, he gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll remember that." He looked at her. She looked beautiful, even though she was dressed in workout clothes; baggy grey drawstring pants and a black sleeveless top, her hair back in a ponytail. "You look great tonight."

She looked down at her outfit and stared back at him, laughing. "Jesus, Shane, when's the last time you slept?"

"You mean a full eight hours? I think I was in high school..." They both laughed. "You going out tonight?"

"Yeah. I think it's time for me to step back onto the party circuit. I don't think it's been the same without me."

"Isn't that the truth," he replied with a smile. "You going out with Chris and the guys or are you gonna join Show and I?"

"Chris and the guys cornered me first." Her face crumpled as though she felt terrible for turning him down. "I kind of owe it to Chris. Did you hear he and Jessica got engaged?"

"What? No."

"Yeah. He's so happy." She fell silent. Shane wondered what kind of an effect their relationship was having on her. He knew it was hard to see everyone around her so happy, getting engaged, getting married, going on dates, while she had to be quiet, keep things in the shadows to make sure that nobody caught wise to what was happening. She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Shane-O, you all right?"

"I'm fine," he answered with a shake of his head and a dismissive wave. "Just thinking. Are you coming back to my room tonight?"

"Probably not. I've got an early flight in the morning. I have to do a radio interview at home."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah, some thing to hype up King of the Ring a little bit." She looked into his eyes. "Kurt Angle seems to be the favorite, huh?"

"Yeah. Go figure. Just another thing for him to brag about," Shane replied with a roll of his eyes. "Sometimes I think someone should like stick a sock in his mouth."

"Can you believe that he took that shot at you? _'I'm in the main event. What about you'_?" she mimicked. Shane smirked.

"If I wanted to be in the main event so bad, I'd talk to Dad," Shane replied with a smirk. They both laughed. "I got too much shit to do backstage than worry about moving merch, winning titles and closing out segments." She nodded. Shane shook his head. "Sorry. I don't mean to be ranting. He's just a total dick."

"I know, Shane," she answered. "He's a creepy little dick at that." They gazed into each other's eyes for a second before erupting in peals of laughter.

"I've got to run though, Rinoa," he told her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I have to do some negotiating with some more of the WCW guys." She nodded; he had purchased all of their contracts – with the exception of the big names, who were still bound to a contract not with WCW, but with TimeWarner – and was now sorting through who was going to be useful in the event of the invasion, and who had a bright future in the WWF if it all went down the drain. He kissed her cheek. "I have to deal with some overseas stuff next week, so I'll see you at King of the Ring, all right?"

She nodded. "Tell Chris I said congratulations." She smiled and he took off down the hallway, leaving her to stare after her retreating figure.

"Hey."

She jumped at the low rumble and turned to see the Undertaker. He was out of his gear, his segment for the night finally passed. He was changed into a pair of blue jeans and a black Big Evil T-shirt, his hair pulled back. He flashed her a smile. "Did I scare you?" he asked, his smile twisting into that trademark demonic grin. She shook her head, a smirk crossing her face.

"You just startled me, Deadman," she replied.

"Thought I was Kurt Angle?"

"Who could mistake you for that guy?" she asked, the smirk widening into a smile. She stared up at his eyes. They were a shade of green that were almost piercing against his auburn hair. "What's up?"

"Chris wanted me to check up on you."

"Are you coming out with us tonight?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Sara would shoot me."

"Tight leash already, Deadman?"

He smirked. "Nah. You know me. I do what I feel like...but I've been going out every night, drinking. Sara would probably rather I call her at a decent time instead of when I'm stumbling back to the hotel hammered." She laughed.

"I don't think I've ever seen you drunk."

"If you did, I wouldn't remember." She laughed, and he chuckled. "How have you been? Has Kurt been giving you any trouble?"

"No, thank God," Rinoa replied. "But I think it's because Shane's been keeping pretty close to me." She shook her head. "I wish he'd get the picture. It's just so frustrating." He nodded, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She shook her head, biting her lower lip. "This is getting weirder and weirder, Taker. The guy's a big draw. I'm just going to be another Diva crying wolf."


	11. Tensions Mounting

**Chapter Eleven: Tensions Mounting**

Lita charged at Rinoa, who ducked. Lita turned and Rinoa brought up her foot in an attempted roundhouse kick. Lita caught her leg and Rinoa responded by bringing her other foot up in a hard kick, taking the Xtreme Diva to the canvas. Thinking quickly, she scampered over to Lita's fallen body and covered her, dragging her leg up and hooking it as the referee counted.

"One...two..."

Lita's shoulder jolted upwards, her hand reaching towards the heavens and Rinoa rolled onto her back, leaned against Lita, breathing heavily, exasperated. The look on her face conveyed exhaustion. She made her way up to her feet and motioned for Lita to stand. Lita made her way to her feet and went to level her with a kick, only to be blocked and receive a kick of her own. Lita went for a Twist of Fate to set up for the Litasault, but Rinoa pushed her off, sending Lita into the ropes. As Lita bounded back, Rinoa ran forward, grabbing Lita's hair and hitting her with a hard facebuster. She quickly covered Lita and got the three count.

_"You like to think you're never wrong..."_

Rinoa was kneeled on the canvas, hands on her hips, a smile on her face. She had finally been booked to win a match. She was wondering for a while if Vince was making her pay for the rumors that were circulating about her and Shane.

Lilian Garcia's voice cut into her thoughts. "And the winner of this match, Rinoa Fielder!" The crowd was cheering, but the reaction was slightly dulled, some of the fans had been rooting for Lita. She rolled out of the ring and tried to catch her breath as she saw a few fans extend their hands to her. With a smile, she slapped hands with them before making their way towards the backstage area.

Shane was standing with Brisco and he flashed her a smile. "Great match," Brisco shouted to her.

"Thanks," she replied with a wide smile crossing her features. She slapped hands with Chris Jericho, who was waiting for his cue. He had a tag team match coming up after Lita cleared the ring. She flashed him a slight salute before disappearing behind the curtains and out into the backstage area. She spotted Trish Stratus talking to Jeff Hardy. Jeff saw her and waved. She waved and slowly approached. Trish turned, flashing a smile at Rinoa. She was dressed in a blue denim miniskirt and a white tank top, her bleached blonde hair piled atop her head in a messy bun.

"Rinoa! Hell of a match out there," Trish told her with a wide smile crossing her beautiful features.

"Thanks. Hi, Jeff," she replied, flashing him a smile. He flashed her a smile and a little salute. "Aren't you guys competing tonight?"

"Not tonight," Jeff answered. "Tonight's focused on some shit between Malenko, Matt and Lita." She nodded; Dean Malenko had become Lita's equivalent of Kurt Angle. The thought made her smirk.

"You going Xtreme with us tonight?" Jeff asked. Rinoa scoffed.

"Forget that shit. I still haven't recovered from the last time you shoved those goddamn Jagerbombs down my throat." They laughed.

"Don't say that," Jeff replied. "We invited Trish out and she's pretty nervous about drinking with us?"

"I wouldn't worry about going out with the Hardyz tonight, Trish," Rinoa replied.

"Thank you."

"If you don't have a liver, anyways." Jeff shot her a look and Trish giggled as Rinoa flashed him a smirk. "I'm off to go clean up. I look like death and probably smell like it too." They laughed and she slapped hands with the duo before making her way down the hallway.

"Rinoa!"

She sighed; she could have gone all night without seeing this guy. She turned around. Kurt had that smug, sleazy grin on his face and she instantly wanted to slap him. "Hi, Kurt," she said, forcing a smile on her face. But she was wound up so tight, the slightest thing would have snapped her. "What are you doing out and about? Don't you have a match coming up tonight?"

"Yeah. I've got some bullshit tag thing with Edge and Christian," he answered. "That was a hell of a match. You and Lita have really put on some classic stuff in the last couple months."

"Thanks," she replied, her guard still up. She was silently hoping Shane or Taker or even Kane would come up and put this entire conversation to rest. But she knew she was still out in front of everyone. So long as she stayed in public with Kurt Angle, he couldn't try to get fresh with her.

"So, I wanted to talk to you..."

"You always want to talk to me, Angle."

He smiled. "Guilty as charged. Can you really blame me?"

"What's this about, Kurt?" she asked, her tone sharp. She really wasn't in the mood for Kurt's constant flirting.

"I wanted to ask you if you'd be okay to go out for that coffee with me," he replied. She shook her head.

"No thanks, Kurt. I appreciate the offer, but..."

"Then come on out."

"Kurt, I don't know how many times I can make it obvious that I'm not interested. Just leave it alone and go harass another Diva." She began to storm past him, and he grabbed her. "Hey!"

"Is there a problem?" a voice boomed. It was loud, and it even took Rinoa off guard. She turned her head to see Shane. She was stunned; he wasn't one to raise his voice. Kurt released her wrist and she stepped over to Shane. Kurt and Shane stood face-to-face in the hallway, eyes locked, blazing. Shane had his fists clenched, but he knew better than to swing. The look in Kurt's eyes were begging him to take a swing, anything for him to take back to Vince.

Rinoa put a reassuring hand on Shane's fist and Kurt cocked an eyebrow. "There's no problem, Shane," she assured him, her tone soft. "Kurt was just leaving." She shot Kurt a look. The look he shot her was full of pure rage, pure lust, and it frightened the hell out of her. "It's okay, Shane-O, just let it slide," she whispered. His jaw clenched; he didn't want to let it slide, but he knew she was right. No harm, no foul. Best to just let it go.

"Come on, Rinoa," he said, his tone stern, even. "Let's go get some catering and watch the rest of the show. Good luck in your match tonight. Break a leg."

"Thanks."

"No. I mean it. Break a leg." Rinoa smirked; this was as good as she was going to get. With a hard tug on his wrist, he moved away with her. Kurt glowered at them down the hallway, Shane keeping his eyes locked on Kurt, moving backwards as Rinoa pulled on his arm.

"Stay away from her," Shane mouthed. Kurt smirked.

"Make me."


	12. King of the Ring

**Chapter Twelve: A Long Night at King of the Ring**

King of the Ring was a night that the fans were excited for, and Rinoa had to admit that with Triple H out of the picture, a man who was arguably one of the best, the tournament was definitely anybody's game. But Kurt Angle seemed to be the odds-on favorite, something that bothered most of the locker room. Kurt knew it. It just made him more smug than usual.

Rinoa and Shane arrived together; the two of them meeting up after a Saturday night appearance at WWF New York. Shane had to do a few things regarding the restaurant and Rinoa was there to make an appearance, so they decided to fly out together. Rinoa had a match at the beginning of the night; a bra and panties match against Terri Runnels. Rinoa had scoffed when she had found out; it was the only real experience Terri had and she had been with the company for so long. It drove Rinoa crazy.

Rinoa was getting ready in the Divas locker room, dressed in a pair of black bell bottomed pants and a hot pink sleeveless top. She put on her black elbow pads and applied a pink gloss to her lips. Terri wasn't going to be a sweat tonight, and she knew it. Terri hated taking bumps and stuff anyways. She began to jump from foot to foot, hoping to get her heart rate up a little bit before her match. It worked for the Rock all the time.

The locker room door opened and Kurt Angle trudged in. She quit jumping and turned. _Doesn't this guy know how to knock? _She thought, irritated. "Kurt? What do you want?"

"You're a little defensive tonight," he observed.

"I've got a match tonight, Angle," she replied hotly, "I have no time to buy whatever it is you're selling."

"Don't be so testy," he chuckled. "Look, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out for coffee after the show tonight."

"Thanks, Kurt, but no thanks. I've got other plans."

"With Shane." Rinoa cocked an eyebrow.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Where do you even get that idea?"

"Oh, come on, Rinoa. Everyone knows something's up. Just come out with it."

"If it's such common knowledge, Kurt, then why the hell are you here?" She instantly found a hole in his logic. He smirked. In anger, she was gorgeous.

"So you admit it?"

She looked up at the clock. Game time. "Think what you want, Kurt. I've got a match."

Terri's music started and she made her way out to the ring, dressed in see through white T-shirt and little black shorts. Her black bra was visible through her shirt, her hair was up and tousled. She went to the ring, making her way to the side ropes and standing on the bottom, leaning over to show off to the male fans who cheered her raucously. She stood on the canvas as her music faded and "Points of Authority" began to blare.

Rinoa made her way out, waving to her fans as she made her way down to the ring. As she slid in, Terri rolled out, leaving Rinoa to move over to the ring corner and hold her arms up high as the fans cheered and the camera lights flashed. Terri slid into the ring and attempted to attack Rinoa from behind, but she jumped down and turned to face Terri, stopping the veteran manager in her tracks.

Terri said something to Rinoa that she couldn't quite hear and then swung her hand in an attempt to slap her. Rinoa blocked it and leveled Terri with a hard slap of her own. The bell rang and the match commenced, with Rinoa kicking at Terri, taunting her for trying to take the cheap way out. Grabbing Terry by whatever hair she could grab, she threw her across the ring with a hard throw, promptly being admonished by the referee. Waving her hand in dismissal, she grabbed Terri's shirt and pulled it off over her head, to expose her black bra. The male fans roared. As Rinoa stood in the middle of the ring, swinging Terri's shirt over her head, Terri came up from behind and pulled Rinoa's shirt hard, exposing a lacy blue bra. Rinoa's eyes blazed and she grabbed Terri's hair, throwing her down to the mat. She was admonished again. As Terri lay dazed, Rinoa locked in a Boston Crab. Terri screamed in pain, and began tapping feverishly on the mat. But there was nothing that could be done for her; submissions didn't count in the match.

Rinoa reached further down, keeping her legs semi-tangled, and grabbed the waistband of Terri's pants. Immediately, Terri began to struggle. As the move was broken and Terri struggled forward, Rinoa pulled off her pants, exposing a small black thong. The male fans roared again. Terri slid out of the ring, humiliated, as the bell rang and Lilian announced Rinoa as the winner. For good measure, Rinoa threw Terri's pants to the crowd before leaving the ring.

Rinoa made her way backstage to find Kurt Angle waiting for her with a robe. "I thought you could use this," he informed her, his eyes fixated on her lace-covered breasts. Rinoa was visibly uncomfortable.

"Um, thanks," she replied, taking the robe from him and quickly sliding it on over her, tying it up tightly at the waist. "I've got to go. Good luck tonight." He tried to grab at her arm, but she made her way past him quickly and into the backstage area. The nausea in the pit of her stomach was refusing to subside.

Shane McMahon was waiting for Rinoa when she walked into the locker room. He smiled. "Great match tonight," he said and they erupted into peals of laughter.

"Please," she replied with a laugh, locking the locker room door. She flashed him the biggest smile and rushed over to him, leveling him with a passionate kiss. She moved back. "I'm going to go take a shower. If someone's knocking, it's probably Kurt. Just ignore it." Shane shot her a look and she motioned to the robe. He understood. The thought of Kurt leering at her made him sick. She kissed his cheek and disappeared into the shower area.

Kurt Angle was positioned outside the Divas locker room. He had tried to go in, but Rinoa had grown wise after his previous decision to barge in and had locked the door. He also knew that she was taking a shower, and he would have given anything to be in there at the moment. She was gorgeous. And he also knew that she was involved with Shane McMahon, but he didn't care. The chemistry between them was something that couldn't be ignored, he had rationalized to himself. He would have loved to be the one to expose Shane's little dalliance with Rinoa out to everyone. He smiled as he thought about the rammifications; perhaps Shane would lose his position with the company. He'd see to it that Shane either lost his position, or was forced to dump Rinoa in an effort to keep his position. Kurt smiled at the thought and continued pounding on the door.

Shane was going crazy inside. The guy didn't get the hint. She was in the shower for ten minutes and the pounding was incessant. Didn't the guy have a match?

Rinoa made her way out, her body draped in a towel. She looked at Shane and motioned for him to go back into the shower area. He knew why. She was going to answer the door, and she knew locking the door with Shane in the room didn't look good for either of them. He was reluctant, but he followed her orders. With Shane out of view, she quickly changed into a pair of blue jeans and a white sweater, drying her hair feverishly. With a deep breath, she answered the door and Kurt walked in.

"I started knocking fifteen minutes ago," he raged. Rinoa was taken aback by his tone. She went over to her duffel bag and grabbed her hairbrush.

"And you didn't get the hint then?" she asked hotly. "I was in the shower." She motioned to her wet hair and Kurt smiled. The smile he gave her creeped her out beyond anything she had ever felt and she found herself feeling more and more uneasy. She knew if Kurt really crossed the line that Shane was only a foot or two away. He put his hand on her shoulder and she snapped away from his touch. "Go get cozy somewhere else, Angle. I've got to go."

"I thought I'd take you for that coffee," he replied. "I won't take no for an answer, Rinoa," he added, his tone menacing. She stared at him, a scowl etching her beautiful features.

"I'm not interested, Kurt. I don't know how much more clearer I can say that."

"You're going to run away with Shane, aren't you?" Kurt sneered. She shrugged.

"Whatever, Angle."

"Since you won't confirm it, let me ask you this: if you are fucking Shane McMahon, what does he have that I don't?"

"The picture." From inside the shower area, Shane smirked. She was terrific.

"Wow, you're a little firecracker," he said. "I bet you'd be amazing in the sack."

She was instantly disgusted. She didn't think it was possible, but she was more disgusted with Kurt than ever. "Kurt, I'm asking you just to get out of here."

He smirked. Before she knew it or could brace for it, he lunged at her, pinning her hard against the wall. She cried out as her head smacked the wall. Shane heard the echo of her head on the tile and wanted to run out to rescue her, but he knew why she had sent him into hiding. Kurt would exploit their relationship in the worst way and he knew it. "Fine, he smirked, kissing his way up her neck, to her ear. She closed her eyes, fighting the urge to cry and be sick. "This isn't over, _Princess_," he informed her, the word "princess" dripping with venom. He let her go and stormed out. As soon as the door slammed, Shane stormed into the main area.

"Stupid son of a bitch..." he raged.

"Shane, let it go," she replied, her tone drained. She still felt his lips on her neck and it gave her the worst feeling. He shook his head and turned to her, searching through her hair for a bump. She flinched when he found it. He shook his head.

"Fuck that. He's mine." With that, he was out the door.

Kurt Angle didn't see him coming as he was focused on his match. But Shane slid into the ring like a wild animal and pounced, attacking Kurt and costing him his King of the Ring opportunity. The WWF locker room was stunned; after all, Kurt Angle had been the odds-on favorite. Now it was most definitely anybody's game. After the pinfall, the two began to brawl, leading to dozens of referees making their way into the ring and separating them. Shane was screaming, trying to break through the referees and attack Kurt Angle. Kurt was trying to attack Shane. The referees pulled Shane out of the ring and to the backstage area.

Later on in the night, Shane was dressed in his ring gear; a red Shane O'Mac jersey and black trackpants. He was pacing back and forth in his locker room. Rinoa was seated on the couch, quiet. Her head still hurt, and no matter how hard she had tried, she just couldn't talk Shane out of this impromptu street fight he was about to have with Kurt Angle.

He looked over at her. Her eyes were so vulnerable. He had hurt her. He had to hide in the showers while the Great American Sleazebag had attacked his girlfriend. He leaned down in front of her, and her green eyes focused on him. "Rinoa...I can't let this stand," he told her, running a hand along her cheek. She only nodded numbly. She still was surprised that Kurt had been so aggressive and vulgar with her. "If I don't do something, he's going to keep coming at you," he told her. She nodded. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. Her body was so tense, but he could feel the sigh of relief as his lips captured hers. He pulled back. "I love you," he whispered, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "After the show tonight, we'll go back to your hotel room and we'll get you feeling better, okay?" She nodded and he smiled, kissing her forehead. "Good." With that, he was gone.

Shane's music played and he came out with his trademark Shane-O-Shuffle, making his way to the ring. He knew that Kurt was a better athlete, a better wrestler. Hell, Shane barely had any sort of formal training. Everyone had given him the attitude of "You're Vince's kid? You'll figure it out." And Vince didn't particularly support the idea of Shane getting into the ring.

He slid into the ring and waited for Kurt Angle. He felt like a caged animal. He was waiting for Kurt. He wanted to beat Kurt for everything he had ever put Rinoa through. But he also knew there was the possibility that he could fail. And when that happened, he didn't know what he was going to do.

Kurt's music started and Shane took a deep breath. It was showtime. Kurt's pyrotechnics exploded in flashes of red, white, blue and another shot of red as Kurt made a beeline for the ring. Shane tried to brace himself, but the instant Kurt made it into the ring he pounced on Shane, leveling shot after shot before taking him down again with a modified belly to back suplex.

Rinoa stood in the back area, hands crossed together. Trish and Lita were standing side by side, trying to show support for Shane. Shane gained an early advantage, leveling Kurt with arm drags and an inverted Russian legsweep before circling Kurt and slapping him across the head, rolling out of the ring as Kurt stood in the ring, fuming. Rinoa laughed, the girls clapping their hands together. "Come on, Shane," Rinoa replied. Trish and Lita had noticed an unsettling change in Rinoa's demeanor from the time she had arrived earlier on in the night, but they both knew better than to say anything.

The match became brutal, fast, with each men pulling out the stops. Shane climbed to the top rope after resting a garbage can on Kurt's torso and attempting a Shooting Star Press. Kurt moved and Shane hit the garbage can stomach-first, causing the girls to cringe and Rinoa to put a hand over her mouth in concern. "Jesus," Lita breathed. "Who knew he could do _that_?" Trish nodded in agreement as Kurt covered for a two. The women sighed in relief. The match spilled out to ringside. Kurt tried to suplex Shane on the ramp, but Shane countered into a vertical suplex of his own. Rinoa breathed in relief. It was going back and forth, with each man gaining a steady advantage.

Kurt grasped Shane around the torso and attempted to suplex him through the glass. Shane hit the glass, but it didn't break and he hit the ground head-first. Hard. Rinoa sucked in a breath. "Jesus," she breathed. She wondered if Shane was knocked out or paralyzed. But Kurt didn't care. He grabbed Shane and suplexed him again, this time the glass giving away on impact. Rinoa turned away at the impact, her eyes closing. Trish and Lita put reassuring hands on her shoulders. The cameras made their way through the fibreglass and the two men continued to battle. Kurt tried to throw him through again, and the glass once again didn't shatter, sending Shane in a contorted, cramped heap to the ground. It was getting harder and harder for Rinoa to watch. Trish leaned over. "Why don't you go wait in the trainer's room for him? He could probably use to see you when he gets back here." She nodded. She knew at that moment that no matter how hard Shane tried, he was going to lose this battle. She turned away, repulsed as Kurt dragged Shane's lifeless body onto a wheeled storage box and wheeled Shane to the ring. By this point, both men were bleeding. Rinoa shook her head.

"I can't watch this," she breathed, shaking out of the girls' grasps and making her way towards the trainer's room to wait for Shane.

Multiple referees helped Shane into the trainer's room. Shane was incoherent, babbling, bleeding. He had lost the match after Kurt had performed a "Super" Angle Slam off the top rope. "Jesus," Rinoa breathed. She couldn't count the number of times she had taken His name in vain over the course of the evening, but she knew tonight that he was going to be the one who needed excessive care, not her.

They sat him down in a chair in the middle of the room, close to Rinoa. He looked at her, the look of utter defeat and disappointment in his eyes. Her eyes resonated calmness, comfort, and pure, unadulterated concern. She put her hand on his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He flashed her a weak smile as Dr. Rios and a few emergency workers began to wash away the blood and search for the cut along his hairline. Dr. Rios began preparing the needle to start stitching and he squeezed her hand back. The silence spoke more between them than words ever could.


	13. Love

Six months of dating and Shane was pretty sure that Rinoa was The One.

Shane's head was still splitting from his _King of the Ring _street fight that had taken place the night before. He felt like an idiot, having to fly to Canada for his big meeting during the week with six stitches in his forehead, covered by a giant bandage. Since the fight ended, Rinoa had stayed by his side, keeping the wound clean and getting him anything he needed, trying to keep him comfortable so he could rest his battered body.

Tonight he had sent Rinoa out for a night with Taker and Kane. She didn't want to leave him while he was injured, but he reminded her that he had stitches, that he wasn't an invalid. He knew she deserved to have a life outside of him, and he encouraged it. She needed her own space, even if she didn't think so. As much as he loved her company, Shane didn't want to see her sacrifice her social life for him. It wasn't fair to her, since he was always going out and partying like a rock star with most of the roster.

The situation with Kurt Angle was eating him alive. Last night he felt had been his last stand to get Kurt to back off, and he had lost. The feeling of failure was heavy on his bones. Even if Rinoa refused to acknowledge it, Shane knew that he had failed her. She told him he was incoherent and concussed, and that he didn't know what he was saying. But he did. He had failed. Kurt didn't see him as a threat.

He had big plans when he returned from his Canadian meeting, where they would create a college ambassadors program that would help students promote WWF events in Canada. After the meeting, he planned on flying out to Rinoa's home in Sacramento. Part of him was hoping that he and Rinoa would finally consummate their relationship. Not that he was in any rush, or that he was going to put pressure on her. He just wanted to be with her in every way. Everything she did tugged at his heartstrings, from sleeping in his jerseys to how peaceful she looked when she slept. He had never felt so taken with somebody.

Shane knew she was worried about the situation with Kurt Angle. She had every reason to be. But he vowed to himself that he would do anything to push him out of her mind.

* * *

The bar was in full swing when Rinoa arrived with Taker and Kane in tow. Having two big men with her, Rinoa knew that she was attracting all sorts of attention. She was dressed in a denim mini skirt and a white peasant blouse that was off-the-shoulder. Matching heeled white sandals and a locket completed the look. Her hair was pulled back and curled, her makeup very subtle. Taker was dressed like he belonged in a biker bar, while Kane was casual in a T-shirt and jeans, his hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

While Kane was on the dance floor with Jacqueline and Shawn Stasiak, Taker watched Rinoa. She was nursing her glass of rum and Coke. Taker could see the misery and distraction in her eyes. She was trying to have fun, but he knew that her thoughts were back with Shane, who had endured one of the most brutal ass-kicking's he had ever seen the night before. There was something else in her eyes; she was afraid. She had such vulnerable eyes that she was easy to read. In that moment, she felt like a daughter to him and Taker knew that he would do anything to protect her.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine. I'm just thinking."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"I wish it was something I could talk about, but I can't," she told him.

"Is it about what happened with Shane McMahon last night?" he asked. Rinoa didn't have to answer; he knew. One look in her eyes and he could tell that she was head over heels in love with him. He put a reassuring hand on hers. "Why did he attack Kurt Angle last night, Rinoa? Level with me." She looked into his eyes, hers pleading with him not to make her answer. But his green eyes were just as unrelenting as hers. "You can tell me, Rinoa. Whatever is said is between you and I, and you know you can trust me."

"All right, but promise me you won't make a big deal out of this," she said with a sigh. He couldn't make any promises, but he nodded just so she would continue. "Kurt…well, Kurt got a little rough with me last night…"

"What?" his voice boomed. Several patrons turned to look at them and Rinoa felt herself blushing under their stares. Taker couldn't believe what she had just told him. The idea that anybody would want to put their hands on Rinoa seemed implausible. But he knew Kurt was walking a very fine line.

"You promised me you wouldn't make a big deal," she whispered. Taker sighed and sipped from his cup of Jack Daniels. He shook his head, trying to keep the anger at bay.

"Did he hurt you?"

"Not really."

"Rinoa, be honest with me, all right: what's going on with you and Shane McMahon?"

"Nothing; he's my best friend," she answered. He didn't know if that was true or not, but he knew her feelings for him were definitely more than platonic. "He lost. Now he feels like he failed. I can't shake that feeling out of him, either. This whole situation feels like it's spiraling out of control. I don't know what to do, and I'm just so worried about him…" Taker sipped from his cup.

"Go to him."

"I can't do that. I promised you guys I'd come out and have fun. I promised Shane I would."

"You're no fun to us here; you're too worried about him to have a good time." There was a moment of silence between them. "You're in love with Shane McMahon, aren't you? Shit, Rinoa, you don't have to answer – it's written all over your face. Come on, let's go call you a cab and get you out of here."

They stood, walking to the back of the bar to make the call. "I'm sorry, Deadman," she told him.

"Don't worry about it. You think I've never been in love before?" he said with a laugh. He gave her a kiss on the forehead that was strictly paternal. "Besides, I'm worried about him, too. He took a hell of a beating last night."

"I owe you another night out, you know."

"You're goddamn right you do," he told her with a grin. They went outside to wait. He hugged her when the cab pulled up. "I'll see you at _SmackDown_ tomorrow, Rinoa."

"Thanks, Taker," she told him. He nodded and opened the door for her as she got into the cab. He watched it drive away.

* * *

Shane was watching a replay of _Raw _on the television in his hotel room when Rinoa opened the door and walked in. He was surprised to see her. "What are you doing back so early?" he asked, watching her kick off her sandals and undo the pins in her hair.

"The guys sent me back," she answered. She made her way to the bed and checked the stitches on his head.

"They did not."

"They did. How's your stomach?" There was a bruise on his stomach in the shape of a trashcan from where he missed the Shooting Star Press. Her hands reached the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up so she could look at the red and purple bruise.

"Rinoa, I'm fine. At this rate, you're never going to have a social life again!" he told her.

"I'm sorry. Any other night would have been fine. Even Taker says he's worried about you." She crawled over him and sat down on the bed. "How was your night?"

"Steph called."

"What did she want?"

"She's thinking about coming back." Rinoa blinked.

"Is Hunter fine already? I thought they said he was going to be out for at least a year."

"He is. But Steph is going stir crazy. Apparently ECW just filed for chapter eleven."

Extreme Championship Wrestling, run by Paul Heyman, was considered an unofficial developmental facility by the WWF. It had given them talent such as Tazz, the Dudley Boyz, Lita and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Rinoa had heard the rumors that the company was having issues financially, but she assumed it had all worked itself out since they had gotten on TV with TNN.

"I thought your father was subsidizing them…and the TV deal…"

"Paul's a bit too in-your-face to carry a TV deal," Shane said. "He dared them one too many times to cancel them, I guess."

"So what does Stephanie buying ECW mean?"

"Well, between you and I, Stephanie wants to join forces with WCW and make Dad fight a two-front war, of sorts."

"How do you feel about this?"

"Iffy, to be honest," he confessed. "When it comes to involving Stephanie in anything, things can go from bad to worse in one hell of a hurry. I'm supposed to see her when I get home, before the Canadian meeting, so I'm sure we'll work out all the details there."

"Good. But for tonight, no more Invasion talk," Rinoa told him. "Tonight, you just need to relax and shake it off. It was only a loss, Shane."

"Noa…"

"Shane, he's an Olympic gold medallist. He's conditioned so much more differently than you are. But you almost had him, and he knows it. But you still have your health, your family, your fans, your employees and little old me." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "We'll live to fight another day, Shane, so don't worry."

"I love you, Noa."

"I love you, too," she told him. They curled up together on the bed and continued to watch the show. But their thoughts were still on the subject of Kurt Angle.


	14. Sad Goodbyes

**Chapter Fourteen: Sad Goodbyes**

Dressed in a strapless red minidress with a black knitted sweater zipped up under her bosom with black heels, Rinoa stood in the airport, a sad smile etched on her features. Life in the WWF had gone without major issues in the last week, but it was because Taker, Kane, Shane and Chris Jericho had latched onto her. Word of what Kurt Angle had pulled at King of the Ring had spread like wildfire, and now everyone was hanging around her, suffocating her at work.

Shane looked at her. She looked incredible, her brown hair pulled back in a layered ponytail, her makeup natural. Her eyes were sad, though.

"Rinoa, you're treating it as though I'm leaving forever," he laughed, giving her a hug. "I'll be back in about two weeks. Tops." She nodded.

"I'm going to miss you," she told him.

"It's not like I'm not going to call you, Rinoa. God, you're making it sound like I'm taking off to the desert or something." His flight didn't leave for another two hours, but he arrived early to check his bags. Rinoa had another appearance at New York with Chris Jericho for the upcoming Invasion pay-per-view and she decided to accompany Shane to the airport. He looked so good to her, standing in front of her in a black pinstripe suit with a white button-down shirt and a red tie, briefcase in hand. He had a business dinner a few hours after he landed to map out the last minute details of his presentation. He was so nervous.

She took his hand. "Let me know how your presentation went, okay?" He nodded. He wanted to lean forward and kiss her, but he knew that there were fans upon fans around ready to post that on the Internet. It would get back to Vince, who was suspicious, but still unaware, and then it would be bad on all fronts.

"You know I will. And when I get back..." He leaned into her ear. "You and I are going to have a night to ourselves." She understood what he meant and she blushed a little bit. He flashed her a smile. "I love you, beautiful. See you when I get back. Stay out of trouble."

"You too," she told him with a smile. "No Kamikazes."

"Castrate me, why don't y ou?" he teased. They laughed. "I'll keep the drinking to a minimum," he assured her. "I've got to go through baggage check. I'll see you in a couple weeks and I'll call you tonight." She nodded and he took off through the gates, leaving her standing alone amidst the hordes of people in the airport.

"You look depressed, Noa," Chris observed, sliding into the booth across from her. She had called, sounding depressed, and he had invited her out for dinner. She was already there, sniffling into a drink.

"I'm okay," she assured him. He smiled, reaching out to touch her hand.

"You sure? Shane left this afternoon."

She looked up at him. "I'm fine, Chris," she assured him. "It's just... I don't know. I guess I hang out with him so much that I'm going to miss him while he's gone."

"You love Shane McMahon, don't you?"

"Chris..."

"Rinoa, it's so fucking obvious." The waitress brought him a beer. He thanked her and she shot him a glance before walking away. He shook his head. "Rinoa, seriously – what is going on?"

"Look, it's just...there's a lot going on...with Kurt, and with everything..." she took a sip of her drink. "I think it's starting to get to me."

"Hell, I'd be concerned if it wasn't, Noa," he told her. "It's getting to me and I'm not directly involved. Has anything been done about him pulling what he did at King of the Ring?"

"No, but Kurt was supposed to win it, so Vince tore Shane a new one."

"What?" Chris rolled his eyes. "Give me a fucking break. Did he say anything to you?"

"What can he say to me? I didn't make Shane go attack him. I told him to let it go." Rinoa sighed. "I feel like I'm making so much trouble here, Chris, and I don't know how to make it better."

"Rinoa, cut that shit out now. None of this is your fault. Kurt's fucked in the head. There's no nice way to say it, but it's the truth." She sipped on her drink. "Now, Rinoa, seriously, be honest with me. I need some background information here, okay?" She nodded, putting her drink down on the table. "You and Shane are dating, aren't you?"

"Chris..."

"Rinoa, you know you can trust me. I got to know, Rinoa. It's why you're so upset about Shane leaving, isn't it? Otherwise, you'd be fine with it."

She sighed. "We've been dating six months, Chris." Chris almost spit his beer across the table.

"I knew it!" he said, trying to keep his voice hushed, but shout at the same time. She sighed and looked into her drink, taking another sip. "That's why he attacked Kurt Angle, isn't it?" She nodded. "Jesus Christ, Rinoa." He shook his head. "Vince still hasn't figured it out, has he?"

"No. I think he's heard some of the rumors and he's suspicious. But he hasn't figured it out."

"Rinoa..."

"I know, okay, Chris? But I love him so much. And he loves me just as much, Chris. This whole thing with Kurt... it's killing us." She sighed. "And the worst part is that Shane can't just come out and say anything because Kurt's going to exploit it."

Chris put a reassuring hand on hers as dinner arrived. "Rinoa, there's enough people to help you if something goes wrong here, okay? Just don't hesitate to ask for help. Shane's trying, but he can't do it alone." She nodded. He flashed her a reassuring smile. "Rinoa, take a week off. I'll talk to Vince, explain a few things. Seriously – go home, relax, and try to put this whole Angle mess out of your head. While you're gone, I'll see if the Brothers and I can make things a little more clear for Kurt." Rinoa nodded. She understood what that meant. She knew Chris didn't want her around for any of that.

"You're like a sister to me, Rinoa. We'll get him off your back if it kills us." She nodded. The old school mentality was kicking in, and Rinoa knew things were going to get dangerous.


	15. I Miss You

**_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and the attention you guys have given this story...this is more or less a filler chapter, but the next chapter is going to be HUGE. I promise you. Happy readings for now...it's gonna get a little hazy after this. _**

**Chapter Fifteen: I Miss You**

Rinoa lived on a beachfront house in Sacramento, California, her first big thing she had bought herself when she had gotten a contract from WCW. She had spent her days off renovating the place. It was a two storey white house with hardwood floor on the inside and a spiral staircase that led up to her bedroom.

Vince had allowed Rinoa to take the time off. Chris had told Vince that Rinoa had hurt herself taking a bump for Lita and was having back spasms. It wasn't a total falsehood, Rinoa's back was in constant pain from over the years. But Vince had given her two weeks off. She had told Shane she had been given the time off, and he was going to come back to her place when he finished up with the Canadian meeting, which he said was going relatively well. He was due back in a couple days and he was going to spend the week with her at her place.

She woke up in her own bed and reveled at the fact that she'd be able to for a couple weeks before going back to Vince. She'd already been off for about a week and enjoyed every moment of it.

When she wasn't performing in front of millions, Rinoa lived a simple life, barely leaving her house, cooking, cleaning, baking and working out. The kids all knew where she lived and once a week some would stop by so she could sign some autographs and send them away with cookies she had baked. It sounded really goody-goody, but Rinoa always tried to be a good part of her community, even though she was away so much.

Dressing down in a pair of black jogging pants and a form fitting pink T-shirt, Rinoa got ready to start her day. She figured a jog along the beach, followed by making some chocolate drops. She knew Shane would be there in a few days and she was excited. She was also a little nervous. She knew that he was hoping to take things up a notch with her. The idea of having sex with Shane thrilled her, but it worried her. She didn't want to be with him while everything with Kurt Angle was hanging over their heads, causing tremendous stress on the two of them. She knew he loved her, he knew she loved him. It wasn't like she was waiting for him to stick a ring on her finger. She just wished that she didn't have Kurt Angle hanging over her head when she finally took the Big Step with Shane. She sighed. She sounded like she was in high school.

Tossing her hair back in a high ponytail, she gathered her keys and slid on her runners, leaving for her morning jog. It was her time to just reflect.

She thought about Shane. She hadn't felt this way about somebody before. Even with Jake. Sure, it had devastated her when he had left her, but she hadn't found it so hard to get over him. She still thought of him every now and then, but it was one of those things where he warranted momentary pangs. She hadn't felt a single pang of regret over Jake since she had been with Shane; he had hardly crossed her mind. Sometimes he'd try and call her, to tell her he saw her on TV and that he was proud of her, but she couldn't be bothered. He hadn't wanted to be there when she worked to get the level of success she had earned, so she didn't think he deserved to be on the rest of the ride. She always ignored his calls, screened his calls. She supposed she could always change her number, but she never had the time. When she was home, she was more or less getting ready to go back onto the road.

She jogged along the beach, staring out into the water. She hoped she could take Shane along when he came out. There was so much she wanted to show him because she knew he didn't have the time to see the sights in his travels. She wondered just what was going to happen when Vince found out about the two of them. She was idealistic to think that she and Shane would be able to hide the relationship forever.

She returned home from her jog and took a quick shower, changing out of her workout clothes into a breezy blue sundress. She wanted to stop by the grocery store and pick up some things so she wouldn't have to leave the house when Shane arrived. She was thinking of making a nice dinner for him. She wanted to tap into her romantic side, but it had been so long since she had the opportunity to be romantic that she wasn't sure she knew how.

The phone rang and she rushed to answer it. "Hello?"

There was nothing but silence on the other end. She listened for a few seconds. "Hello? Anyone there?" When there was no answer, she just hung up the phone. A few seconds later it rang again. With a sigh, she answered. "Hello?"

"Hey."

"Shane!" she squealed, a wide smile crossing her features. She made her way over to the couch and sat down. "How's things going over there?"

"Well, I'm on my way to a lunch meeting now, but I thought I'd call you and see how things are going."

"Fine, fine. I was thinking about going to the grocery store pretty quick."

"Getting anything good?"

"Well, I thought I'd make you dinner when you got here. When are you coming in?"

"I should be in at about five thirty on Thursday, if everything goes right," he told her. "We've set up a terrific program here. But I'll tell you all about it when I get there. How's your back?"

"It's all right," she answered. "It's been nice having this much time to relax. I can't remember the last time I had this kind of time off."

"It's not the same without you here, Rinoa," he told her. She smiled.

"I don't think we've ever been apart like this, have we?"

"I hope next time you can get out here with me," Shane replied. "We could always use a Diva to get the point across." She laughed. She rested her head against the couch. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Shane," she assured him. "I miss you like crazy."

"I miss you too, beautiful. I can't wait to see you." He chuckled. "I got you something."

"Yeah?"

"I hope you like it."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you that...it would kill the surprise."

"Oh, Shane...that's not fair."

"I didn't say I was fair. Anyways, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you, too, Shane. I'll see you soon." She hung up the phone and a wide smile crossed her face. He always knew how to make her day. She got off the couch. She assumed she should get to the grocery store before she lost the desire to go.


	16. Crossing the Line

_**A/N: Hey, everyone. Ohemgee, thank you for reading (even if there's no reviews lol). SandraSmit19, sweetortonlover86, thank you so much for reading this and reviewing. It means a lot...warning; this chapter is pretty dark and may be tough to read at some parts. If you're offended, I apologize in advance. Things are gonna get bumpy. (Jennie)**_

**Chapter Sixteen: Crossing The Line**

On Wednesday night, the men and women at the WWF pulled into Las Vegas, Nevada for a house show. Tonight was the night that the boys were going to deal with Kurt Angle. Chris was there early, in his locker room, taping up his wrists and his fingers. He didn't want to break anything on Kurt's thick skull.

Chris Jericho wasn't a violent guy. Not by any means. But he was also very protective of Rinoa. And no matter how clear she made it to Angle, he wasn't getting the picture. Drastic actions called for drastic measures.

This was some real old school shit, he knew it. He'd never been part of something so violent before. But he knew back in Taker's day, back in Hardcore Holly's day, this was the way they dealt with people who stepped out of line. He didn't know how he was going to sleep tonight. With a deep sigh, he slid on an old Judas Priest T-shirt and tied his long blond hair back in a low ponytail. He sighed; for a guy who lived his life beating on people, he definitely wasn't feeling the idea of pulling Kurt Angle into a back room and beating the hell out of him. Especially since he was one of Vince's top guys.

He pulled open the door and made his way out into the main area. He was in the main event, tag teaming with Tazz against Edge and Christian. He made his way down the hallway, flashing a nervous smile at Trish Stratus, who had just finished a mach against Molly Holly.

Chris spotted Undertaker walking down the hallway with Kane, blatant irritation marked on his features. Chris approached. "What's going on?"

"The fuck isn't here," Taker growled. Chris cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Apparently he called in about some fucking emergency, but his family hasn't fucking seen him."

"Get the fuck out of here," Chris snarled. He shook his head. "Where the fuck is he?"

"No one knows," Taker replied. Kane sighed.

"Chris, tell me, is there any chance that he knows where Rinoa lives?" Kane asked. Chris' eyes snapped up, fear, shock and desperation in his eyes.

"Not that I know of, but how the fuck do we know he hasn't figured it out?" Chris shook his head and fought the urge to throw something. "Fuck." He looked at the guys. "One of us is going to need to call Shane."

"I'm on it," Kane grumbled, disappearing down the hall.

"Fuck, Deadman...what if he knows?"

"Fuck," Taker grumbled. "Should we call her? I don't want to scare her." Chris understood.

"It might be for the best to leave it between us. See if we can diffuse it before she comes back. We could just be paranoid." Taker nodded, but both men knew it was a chance that they didn't want to take.

Rinoa couldn't sleep. She was seated on the couch, under a pink fleecy blanket, watching a horror movie. She had a bowl of popcorn and a glass of Diet Coke on the coffee table. Her mind was on Shane. He would be there the following night and she couldn't wait to see him. She was still nervous about the fact that he wanted to be romantic and everything, but she felt the excitement overwhelmed whatever fear she had.

She wanted everything to be perfect when Shane arrived, and she was nervous that everything was going to go wrong. She also wondered about what Shane was bringing for her. She knew they were going to have to talk about Shane's father. Telling Vince had been on her mind for a while now, and she knew the longer they hid it, the angrier Vince was going to be when he found out.

She popped some popcorn in her mouth. The silence in the house was thick, enveloping everything. She felt paranoid at the store during the afternoon, and she couldn't wait to get home. She felt like there was somebody watching her, somebody familiar. She wanted to say it felt like Kurt was watching her, but she knew how ridiculous it sounded. He didn't even know where she lived.

She felt chilly in the house and she wondered if she left the door open. The blanket wrapped around her, she stood up and made her way over towards the back door in the kitchen.

Shane was on his flight, sitting back, enjoying a drink. This would be a huge surprise to Rinoa. He would be there in the morning. To surprise her, he had opted to catch a red-eye – which he usually hated – so he could surprise her on her doorstep in the morning. He smiled. In just a couple hours, he'd be with Rinoa, holding her tightly in his arms.

His phone rang. He quickly scrambled through his suit pocket and pulled his phone out. "Shane O'Mac," he said, trying to keep his voice hushed. He noticed a few people sleeping on the plane.

"Shane, it's Taker, man. We need to talk."

"Yeah, sure, man. What's up?"

"I think we got a huge fucking problem on our hands."

"What do you mean?"

"Tonight, the guys and I were gonna knock some sense into Angle. You know, go real old school on his ass. Anyway, we got to the arena tonight, and I guess he called your dad and left him a message. Told him that there was a family emergency or some shit."

"What's the problem?" Shane asked, cocking an eyebrow. He checked his watch. The show would have been over.

"Vince called Kurt's family, and there's nothing wrong. Kurt Angle is fucking AWOL."

Shane closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He knew exactly what Taker was driving at. "Fuck me," he breathed, shaking his head. He kept his tone low. "Has anyone told Rinoa?"

"No. We wanted to see if we could deal with it before it got to that. We didn't want to scare her." Shane nodded; he understood.

"I understand, but she should probably know. Where you guys at?"

"Vegas."

"Damn." He knew that the guys couldn't make it in time to Rinoa's house to keep watch. "Dad said Steve's out there taking acting meetings. I'll give him a call and see if I can get him to watch Rinoa. Thanks, guys. Keep me posted."

"Can do. Don't panic, Shane O."

"Easier said than done. I'm thirty-seven thousand feet in the air." He hung up his phone and rubbed his temples, before rifling through his phone book for Steve Austin.

The phone ringing awakened the irritated Texan from his slumber. "Who the fuck is calling at this goddamn time?" he growled, looking over at Debra, who was peacefully dozing beside him. He answered the cordless phone and made his way onto the balcony. "The fuck is this?" he growled.

"Steve, I'm really sorry to wake you..."

"You damn well ought to be. Who the fuck is this?"

"It's Shane, Steve. Look, I wouldn't call so late unless it was an emergency."

He sighed. "I know. What's going on?"

"It's Kurt Angle. He's gone AWOL."

"Why is that my problem?"

"Look, I'm on a red eye flight out there, but I have the strongest feeling that Rinoa is in danger."

"What the hell do you want me to do?"

"Steve, please, I need you to go to her place and check on her."

He sighed. He looked over at his sleeping wife. _Lucky bitch gets to sleep_, he thought. He contemplated waking her up and dragging her along, but he thought the better of it and just clenched his jaw. "I will," he said, walking back into the room and grabbing a piece of paper and a pen. "Address?" He quickly jotted it down. "Okay. Breathe. Fuck, you're going to blow a damned gasket." He hung up the phone and slid on a pair of cutoffs and a black T-shirt. "Fucking McMahons," he murmured, grabbing his keys and leaving.

Rinoa noticed the back door was open. She cocked an eyebrow. She knew damn well she had closed it when she had finished cleaning the kitchen. She sighed. Tucking the blanket tighter against the frame, she closed the door.

She felt an arm wrap around her neck quick and the blanket dropped, revealing her white cotton nightgown. She instantly began to struggle.

She could feel his breath in her ear. It was familiar, but unfamiliar. It definitely wasn't Shane. "Don't struggle," he growled in her ear. "You're only going to make things worse for yourself." She continued to struggle out of pure instinct as he dragged her towards the living room. There was a woman screaming on the television. Rinoa wouldn't stop struggling and shouting. She bit his arm and he shouted out in pain, throwing her over the couch. She landed awkwardly between the table and the couch, her neck making a crunch on impact. She could feel a tingling sensation in her arm. She tried to move away, but he was on her in a flash, hand covering her mouth as she screamed and struggled in desperation beneath him. He was too heavy for her, straddling her, pressing all his weight down on her as she struggled. With every movement, she could feel the nerves twitching and numbing down to her fingertips. Her neck was in severe pain, and she cried out often with each thrashing movement. The more she cried out, the more turned on he seemed to be as he leaned forward, pressing his lips hard to hers. She tried thrashing, but she knew her neck was injured. She thought she was going to lose what air she had left. She couldn't believe this was happening. Kurt Angle was attacking her, in her home. She felt his fingers fumbling on his pants and she continued to try and fight him. He was just too heavy. He outweighed her by over a hundred pounds. He was crushing her. "Stop, please," Rinoa whimpered. He was mumbling words she couldn't understand, incoherent, like he was possessed. She moved her hand but she had no force behind it. With a free hand, he grabbed her wrist roughly and slammed her arm to the floor. She screamed out as she felt the familiar pain of Angle entering her roughly and the shooting, numbing yet searing pain shooting through her arms. She slowly found herself fading in and out of shock.


	17. Revelations

**Chapter Seventeen: Revelations**

Shane pulled up in his rental car and was horrified to see the yellow crime scene tape strewn around the house. He had silently prayed the whole way that everything was all right. Steve had called him and had warned him that things had been bad, that the initial look of it was a brutal home invasion. He hoped his intuition was wrong, but something told him that everything was right on the money, that Rinoa was definitely harmed.

Killing the ignition, Shane was out of the car in a flash, running up to the house. "Rinoa!" he shouted. "Rinoa!"

He was stopped by a young male officer, who held out a hand, causing Shane to stop. "You can't come through here, sir," he said sternly, "This is a crime scene." Shane instantly became defensive.

"This is my girlfriend's house," Shane snapped hotly. He tried to break through the barrier of officers only to be grabbed roughly by the back of his shirt and dragged away. He was let go by his car and he wheeled around angrily to stare into the icy eyes of Steve Austin.

"What in the hell are you doing, son?" Steve asked, an amused smirk tugging at his features.

"What the fuck is going on?" Shane shouted. He didn't care who heard him. He wanted to know where the hell Rinoa was. He tried to move past Steve, who swiftly blocked him in.

"Would you calm the hell down? Jesus Christ, you're about to blow a damn gasket." Shane's eyes blazed like fire.

"Steve, I'm not going to ask you again. Where the fuck is Rinoa?"

Steve sighed, running a hand over his bald head. "Shane...fuck, man...it's bad." He leaned against Shane's car. "I've never walked into such fucking carnage. Her place was ransacked, Shane. I found her on the floor...she couldn't move. She didn't say a goddamn word." Shane saw a flash in the eyes of the Rattlesnake. This was something that was going to affect him for the rest of his life.

"Where is she?"

Steve sighed. "She's at the hospital. Debra's there in case she wakes up. But I thought I'd come meet you." Shane slapped Steve on the arm and motioned for him to get in the car.

The elevator doors slid open and Steve and Shane rushed into the hospital. Debra was talking to a doctor. Shane and Steve approached. "Debra, how is she?"

The doctor looked at them. "You guys here for Rinoa Fielder?"

"Please tell me she's okay," Shane pleaded. His stomach was in his throat. He just wanted to be with Rinoa.

"She's in with a neurosurgeon now having an emergency procedure. Her neck is pretty compressed; she must have taken quite a spill. We're trying to relieve some swelling in her neck. We've already run a rape kit in hopes of catching whatever evidence we could, and... well, I'm very sorry, but it tested positive."

Shane clenched his jaw and the Austins looked over at Shane. "How is she?" Shane squeaked out. His fists were clenched so tight, Steve was worried his fingers were going to break.

"I'll have more for you when she's out of surgery. It shouldn't be much longer now." Shane nodded. Debra led Shane to take a seat. The doctor disappeared down the hall and Steve went to get them a cup of coffee.

"Where the fuck was I, man?" Shane murmured to himself. "I left her out in the open like that."

"Shane, this isn't your fault..." Debra told him. She sighed. "You'd better not let Rinoa hear you blaming yourself for what's happened. She's going to need you now more than ever, whether it seems like it or not." Shane nodded; she was right.

"They're saying it's a home invasion, Shane," Steve said, returning with three cups of coffee held in his big hands.

"Home invasion my ass," Shane spat into his coffee, taking a sip. It tasted terrible. "I'll put my money on Kurt Angle fucking stalking her. He fucking..." He couldn't even finish the statement. He fought the urge to hurl his coffee across the hallway.

"I know," Debra replied, sensing where he was going. "She's a strong girl, Shane. She'll be all right."

"She's having fucking emergency surgery! With a neurosurgeon! What the fuck did he do to her?" he raged. "We know this wasn't a random act...Fuck!" His tone started to pick up. Steve stood up.

"Come on. Let's get you some air. Calm you the fuck down before you see her."

Shane shook his head. "I don't need fucking air," Shane snapped. Steve sighed.

"You can either walk out, or I can carry you out," Steve retorted. "Make your choice."

Shane knew better than to torque with Steve Austin, so he stood to his feet. "Deb, have you called Chris and Taker?"

"Yeah. They're on their way," she replied.

"What about her parents?" Shane asked. Debra shook her head.

"Chris said he was taking care of it."

Shane sighed. He didn't want to face her parents. He had promised her father at WrestleMania that he would protect her, that he would protect her from Kurt Angle, and he had failed. He had failed in the worst possible way. His mind was tortured with a million questions, with the thought that she may have been screaming for him to save her as Kurt forced himself on her.

Steve stopped him just outside the hospital. "Shane, I know you don't want to hear this, but now is definitely the time to tell your dad that you're dating a Diva."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Shane, it's all going to come out," Steve told him. "He's going to hear about what happened to Rinoa, and then he's going to come out here. Bite the bullet now and tell him, because it's only going to get worse from hereon in." Shane nodded; he was right.

"Fine. Go on in. I'll call Dad." Steve gave him a slap on the arm.

"Take your time. We'll come get you when she's in recovery," Steve told him. Shane nodded, watching the Texan disappear into the hospital. With shaky hands, Shane pulled out his cell phone and called his father.

"Dad? It's me. Look, I have something to tell you..."


	18. All Hell Breaks Loose

Vince sat back in the limousine and sighed, trying to rub the tension headache out of his forehead. He was trying to process everything that Shane had just told him over the phone. Rinoa had been attacked in what appeared to be a brutal home invasion that left her hospitalized. She was in surgery to fix compression on her neck. She wasn't talking about what happened. Steve said she had shut down, not saying a word, only crying softly as he sat with her in the ambulance. Then Shane had pulled out the big guns, admitting to Vince that he had been dating Rinoa. For how long, Vince didn't know. In all of the madness and chaos, Vince didn't think to ask. He was worried about Rinoa. All he knew was she was alive.

It wasn't that Vince disliked the people that worked for him. Sure, there had been a few bad apples that had come through the doors, but they were relatively few and far between. He knew the last name McMahon put a target on his back, and on the backs of Stephanie and Shane. Vince admired Hunter's dedication and work ethic, but he knew that they were a powerful family in the industry. He thought Rinoa was an articulate, intelligent young woman. But he had his family and his livelihood to protect. Vince knew people aren't above using others to get ahead and it was a fate he never wished on his children.

As angry as Vince was feeling about Shane hiding such information from him, he knew he couldn't be angry at Rinoa. Not now, when she was laid up in a hospital bed, recovering from surgery after what happened. He wondered how he was going to react when he saw Shane, who was beside himself over the phone as he gave his father the bare-bones information that he had. Vince rubbed his forehead and sighed again. He couldn't imagine how he would be acting if it were Stephanie in the hospital and not Rinoa. WWF employees were family. Vince vowed to himself that he would find out who was behind such a thing, and make them pay dearly.

Vince stared out the limousine window. Linda had called, trying to get what information she could. Shane didn't have much information, which meant Vince didn't know much. He promised his wife that he would update her on things when he got to the hospital. Everyone was concerned. Steve was visibly shaken, something Vince wasn't used to seeing. Much like his on-screen persona, Steve was a hard-as-nails kind of man, tougher than a two-dollar steak, as Jim Ross would say. But what he had seen when he walked into Rinoa's house had deflated him. Vince could hear it in his voice when they spoke on the phone.

The hospital was approaching on the horizon. Vince ran a hand through his hair and struggled to compose himself. He didn't want to admit it, but he was shaken up by the situation as well. The idea that somebody would want to hurt Rinoa was baffling. She was one of the nicest women he had ever dealt with, let alone one of the nicest employees. She did her job, she never asked for a raise. He liked Rinoa, but he wasn't sure about her with his son. Much like Stephanie and Hunter, Vince was conflicted, his mind going back and forth, weighing the pros and cons that Shane had probably disregarded. His mind fumbled with what he was going to say to Shane. The hospital was coming closer and he knew that time was counting down to come up with the right words.

* * *

"What in the fuck is that asshole doing here?" Chris Jericho snarled.

Shane turned around to see Kurt Angle walking across the parking lot. He was dressed in a light blue button-down shirt and khakis. In his right hand he held a giant bouquet of red roses. There was a wide grin on his face. He was walking towards the sliding doors with purpose. Shane shook his head and took off his blazer. "I'll be damned if he gets near Rinoa," he murmured, handing the blazer to Chris. He moved quickly towards Kurt. "Just what in the hell are you doing here, Angle?" he demanded angrily.

Kurt looked to Shane and his smile grew even bigger, if that were possible. Shane felt sick to his stomach. Rinoa may not have said anything, but Shane knew that Kurt had taken advantage of her, had violated her and her home in the worst possible way. Shane couldn't comprehend what was going through Kurt's depraved mind, nor did he want to. He stepped in front of the door to deny Kurt entry to the hospital.

"I'm here to see my friend," Kurt informed him.

"The fuck you are," Shane spat angrily. It was taking everything he had to keep his temper under control. The longer Kurt kept the smile on his face, the more Shane wanted to bury his fist into Kurt's face. He stepped closer to Kurt. "I may not be able to prove that you did it, but the second we can, your ass is mine," he threatened darkly. Kurt grinned.

"It just kills you to know I broke her in before you did, doesn't it?"

"Motherfucker…" Shane's fist flew before he could even attempt to restrain himself. He hit Kurt hard. A jolt of pain shot up Shane's hand, right up his arm and into his shoulder. Kurt hit the ground, the flowers flying into the parking lot. Watching the madness from a couple feet away, Chris and Taker bolted to Shane to grab him, before he killed Kurt Angle in the hospital parking lot. Taker wrapped an arm around Shane's ribs and yanked him back as he tried to charge. "So help me God, I will kill you!" Shane told him firmly, not caring who saw them.

"Just what the hell is going on here?"

Everyone looked up to see Vince standing in the parking lot. Kurt scrambled to his feet and took his place beside Vince. "This jerk-o attacked me!" Kurt informed him. There was a small trickle of blood coming from his nose, dripping onto his shirt.

"Stay away from her! Do you hear me? Don't you ever fucking come near her!" Shane shouted. Vince walked over to his son and grabbed him roughly by the arm. He looked at Taker and cocked his head in Kurt's direction.

"Get him the hell out of here," Vince growled. Taker nodded. Vince dragged his son off to the side of the white building, away from the people who had started to gather in the parking lot. He let Shane go when they were out of the earshot of others. "Just what do you think you're doing, Shane?"

"That son of a bitch…" Shane spat. Vince smiled in spite of the situation; just like Stephanie, Shane had inherited his temper. Vince presumed it was an Irish thing.

"Shane." Vince's tone was firm. Shane blinked, his eyes resting on his father. It was like a reset button. Vince always knew how to calm Shane down. All it took was a firm tone. It had been that way ever since Shane was a teenager, getting in trouble for various infractions with his friends. "I need some information, Shane, and I need you to be calm so I can get it. Now, first thing's first: how long have you been dating Rinoa?"

"Dad, that's not important right now."

"Shane, give me something, all right?" Shane sighed.

"Almost seven months. And before you say anything to me about not dating the employees, you fuck around with the Divas all the time!" Vince was taken aback, but he knew that Shane had him over a barrel.

"Shane, I tell you not to date or marry one of the athletes because it can create a host of problems."

"You don't call this a fucking problem?" Shane raged. Vince put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Shane, calm down. Tell me what's happening. What happened to Rinoa?"

"I just know she was attacked in her home. I came back from the Canadian meeting early to surprise her, and the house was a goddamn crime scene." Shane put his hands on his hips and sighed. The devastation on his son's face was evident. Vince felt his heart breaking. "She's in surgery, and they ran a rape kit, and it was positive…god-_damn it!"_ Shane kicked a rock and watched it fly down the parking lot.

"Jesus." Vince didn't know what else to say.

"We think that's where Kurt Angle comes in," Shane told his father.

"What?"

"Kurt missed the house show for a family emergency. His family is in Pittsburgh. What the hell is he doing here in California? How would he know that she's here in the hospital? Nobody would tell him! Stephanie doesn't even know what's going on!"

"Shane, this is a very serious allegation you're throwing around," Vince told him. "Can you back it up?"

"I'm sure when Rinoa is ready to talk, she'll talk," Shane told him. "Dad, he's been stalking her for months!"

"Well, that's news to me," Vince told Shane angrily. "Why hasn't anyone come to me about this?"

"Because she was _scared_ of what would happen to her if she reported him because he's your big fucking draw!" Shane yelled. His tone was sarcastic, angry. He threw his arms up in the air, exasperated. "We've been trying to handle it, trying to keep it from getting out of hand. Obviously, I fucking failed, and now look! Everything is a fucking mess!"

"Shane, calm down."

"I'm not going to calm down! My girlfriend was _raped_. She's laid up in the hospital." Shane kicked another rock. "I promised her dad I would protect her, and I couldn't do it." Vince blinked. He had no idea Shane had even met her parents, or that her parents even knew that Shane and Rinoa were dating. He was far out of the loop and very confused.

"You love her?"

"With every fiber of my being," Shane answered firmly. There wasn't a hint of hesitation or doubt.

"Then you should be in there right now with her."

"She won't see me," Shane confessed. "She doesn't want to see anybody right now. I've just been waiting for the police to release her home so I can go and pack a few bags. I'm taking her home with me once she's released. I don't think she should be alone right now."

"That's probably a good idea," Vince agreed.

"You don't say a word to Stephanie about where Rinoa is going, all right? She's still friends with the son of a bitch. I want him kept away from Rinoa _at all costs_." Vince nodded. He was going to point out that things would have been handled earlier had they come to him, but Vince decided it wasn't the appropriate time to do so.

"Shane, you need to calm down before you see Rinoa; she needs you calm and normal right now." Shane nodded. He exhaled; an exhale so deep that his entire body seemed to deflate. "You need to treat her like nothing has happened."

"How the hell am I going to do that?" Shane asked. His first instinct was to hug her, cradle her and baby her. He wanted to protect her, to make up for not being there when she had needed him most. He wasn't sure if he could ever make it up to her, but he hoped she would give him the rest of his life to try.

* * *

Rinoa lay in her hospital bed, dead silent. The nurse tried to start up some small talk with her as she was wheeled into recovery, but Rinoa had nothing to say. She felt numb. Rinoa supposed there was a wide spectrum of emotions she should have been feeling, but she couldn't process anything but humiliation and disgust.

The rape kit had been humiliating. Rinoa lay on the table as the nurse poked and prodded her. Debra held limp hand and the two of them tried to make small talk to make her feel better, but it was hard for Rinoa to say anything when she was being poked, prodded and scraped. She had never felt as low as she did as the crime scene investigators snapped photographs. She felt like an object, a useless object that was just there to be gawked at by everybody. Before she could blow up and say she had enough, it was time for her to go to surgery to relieve the pain in her neck and the numbness in her hands. She knew it would just be some random evidence. Kurt had no record; nothing to tie him to this. Without a comparison, she knew it would just become a cold case that the results of all their poking and prodding would end up in a box in a cold case locker somewhere. The severe bitterness that welled up inside of her surprised her.

She knew she had to finger Kurt Angle as her attacker. It would stop him dead in his tracks and it would keep him from harassing her. It would keep him from doing this to her again. The truth was that she was scared. She was scared of how Vince was going to react if she accused one of his top talents of rape. She was scared of how the law would look at her. She was afraid of the stigma. More than that, she was embarrassed. She was sure she left the back door open. She had given him an in. She couldn't comprehend why the door had been open for so long without her noticing.

But her biggest concern was facing Shane. She knew he was going to treat her differently, but she wasn't sure how differently. She was afraid that he would see her as damaged goods. It was a thought she knew she shouldn't have, but there was a voice in the back of her head that said the landscape of her relationship was going to change drastically. That the relationship between her and Shane was going to be forever changed because of what Kurt Angle did to her. She was scared they couldn't survive this. The idea of losing Shane over something like this was more frightening than words could ever express.


	19. Fragile

Kurt Angle couldn't remember how he ended up in the back of Chris Jericho's rental car. The last thing he remembered before coming to in the trunk was Vince ordering him to be pulled away from Shane, and then a giant fist – presumably the Undertaker's – hitting his face. He had been hit several times by both Chris and Undertaker, but they had flown with such speed and ferocity that he wasn't sure what shot came from whom. He was unconscious by the time he was dumped into the car. Now, he was awake in the trunk and unaware of where he was or where they were taking him. He was bouncing; he knew the car wasn't on concrete, but on a back road.

In the car, Chris and Undertaker sat in the car, wordless. The only noise in the car was from Chris' CD player. The two of them were offended by Kurt's gesture, showing up at the hospital with flowers to torment Rinoa. Shane was normally a well-composed person; they had never seen him fly off the handle the way he had. They wondered if Shane felt the same kind of monumental satisfaction they had felt when they slugged Kurt. This was personal to them; what Vince had to say after this didn't matter to them. They couldn't and wouldn't let this stand.

"How much farther are we going?" Chris asked, looking in the rear-view mirror. They were at least half an hour outside the middle of nowhere, and Undertaker seemed to be leading him even further into the middle of nowhere.

"When I say stop," Undertaker replied.

"We're not going to kill him are we?" Chris asked.

"No. But he'll wish we did." Chris nodded. "Keep following the road for another ten minutes."

"Have you done this before?" Chris joked. Taker didn't answer. "You're right. I probably don't want to know."

* * *

Vince stood in the doorframe. Rinoa was staring up at the hospital ceiling, her breathing deep. She looked over at him, her green eyes so distant and lost that it broke his calloused heart. He walked into the room, closing the door behind him. "You and I are going to have a private talk, if that's all right," he said calmly. The usual swagger and bravado that trailed Vince was gone. Rinoa nodded. He pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down beside her. "Aside from the obvious, Rinoa, are you all right?"

"Seriously, Vince, I'm pretty fucking far from 'all right'," Rinoa told him. Vince nodded. There was an awkward beat between the two of them. "How's Shane doing?"

"Quite frankly, not too good," Vince told her. "We caught him attacking Kurt Angle outside." He watched her every reaction when he mentioned Kurt's name. Her eyes darted to him and he noticed her hand started to shake. Vince cleared his throat. "Rinoa…did Kurt Angle do this to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Rinoa replied. Vince nodded, knowing better than to push the issue. But he was pretty sure that Shane's suspicions were correct, based on her reactions. She knew she had a business Vince needed to protect. Kurt was one of his biggest investments. It didn't even cross her mind that her way of thinking was dangerous.

"Okay. But when you're ready to speak, don't be afraid to. You're technically family, you know."

"I know you aren't happy about that."

"I'm not thrilled," Vince conceded. He knew better than to lie to her; she was not in the mood. "You have to understand my concerns, though, Rinoa."

"I get it. Believe me, I do. We tried to fight it, Vince. We tried so hard," Rinoa told him. "We knew you weren't going to be okay with this. But I love him. I'm pretty sure he loves me. We didn't intend for this to happen, but it did." She sighed. "How is he really, Vince?"

"He's beside himself, of course," Vince told her. "So are Chris and Taker and Trish. Why aren't you seeing any visitors, Rinoa? Everyone is scared for you. They're worried."

"Look at me, Vince. I'm laid up in the hospital. Everyone out there knows what happened to me. _You _know what's happened to me. I'm not stupid; I know they've told you. How can I look at everyone? Jesus, how can I look at me?" she asked. She shook her head. "They're going to look at me like I'm an invalid, Vince, and it's what I don't want: the stares. You're even giving me The Look right now, like I'm something to be pitied."

"This isn't your fault, Rinoa," Vince soothed her.

"I really don't want to get into this, Vince," she told him firmly.

"Please at least see Shane, Rinoa," Vince pleaded. "For the sake of his sanity, he needs to see you and know you're all right. He's in such a panic right now." She sighed. Shane was the last person she wanted to see. She stared out the window, at the daylight. She hated the thought of Shane blaming himself for what happened, when she knew it was her fault for leaving the back door unlocked. Vince was right; if Shane was going to have a modicum of inner peace, he would need to see her.

"I'll see him," she whispered. Vince put his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Great. I'll go let him know." He stood and left. Rinoa felt the familiar feeling of red-hot tears burning behind her eyelids. It felt like all she was doing was crying these days, and she hated it.

* * *

Shane sat in the waiting room, sipping on a cup of coffee that was surprisingly good. His business blazer was slung over the back of the chair he was sitting in. Steve had briefed Debra on everybody's suspicions. She was dressed in sweatpants and a baggy Austin 3:16 T-shirt, her bleached blonde hair tied back in a low ponytail. While Steve stayed to answer the police's questions, he had sent Debra to the hospital to stay with Rinoa until he could get there.

"I hate to think about what Chris and Taker are doing to Kurt as we speak," Debra said absently. Steve put a reassuring hand on her kneecap. Shane sipped his coffee.

"It's probably best not to think about it," Steve told her. He looked at Shane. "But let me just say that whatever he gets is too good for him." It was obvious to Shane that Steve was still affected from finding Rinoa. Shane nodded.

Shane was bewildered that Rinoa would agree to see his father before she would agree to see him. Even at his young age of thirty-one, Shane was still awestruck over the power Vince had over other people. When Rinoa refused to see her closest friends and her boyfriend, Vince had been able to walk through the doors and see her. It blew his mind.

He hoped she would come around soon and agree to see him. He was scared to death for her. Shane didn't want her to blame herself over what happened. No matter what the circumstance, Shane wanted Rinoa to know that it wasn't her fault, that she didn't do anything wrong. It felt like a surreal situation, like he was outside looking in, instead of her boyfriend. The idea of her sitting alone in a hospital room pained him, and he wished he knew how to reach out to her.

Rinoa was going to be released from the hospital in a few hours. Shane was still waiting to hear from the police over when they were going to release Rinoa's home. He was hoping he could see Rinoa, get the call and run to her home to pack up her things. Shane hoped she wouldn't make a big scene about coming back to the east coast with him. He just wanted to keep her close by, keep her safe. He vowed to himself that he would make Rinoa happy again, even if it took the rest of his life.


	20. Making Things Clear

**Chapter Twenty: Making Things Clear**

Kurt Angle's eyes hardly adjusted to the sunlight as he was grabbed roughly by the two men and thrown onto the ground. He inhaled a cloud of dust and began coughing. Unable to fight the urge, both men leveled Kurt with a hard kick in the ribs, leaving him sputtering and gasping for breath a little more.

"Get up, asshole," Taker growled, "We're not finished with you by a fucking longshot." His foot kicked Kurt Angle again. The more and more he thought of Rinoa struggling, screaming for help as he forced himself into her just pissed him off beyond anything he had ever experienced. Rinoa was like a daughter to the Deadman, like a sister to the Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rolla. The thought that he violated her in the worst way made them want to kill Kurt and bury his body in the California deserts.

"Stop! Stop!" Kurt choked out, gasping for breath as the kicks were leveled on him hard and fast.

"Did she ask you to stop?" Taker spat in disgust. "Did she scream for Shane to come and help her, you sick fuck?"

"You son of a bitch," Chris spat, kicking him hard enough to make Kurt gasp for air. He wondered if his ribs were broken.

"You're lucky Shane isn't here," Taker replied, leaning down to get to Kurt's level. "Though I'm sure he'd love to see you fucking fighting for air." He looked up at Chris. "Chris, bring his ass up." He stood, walking down further into the desert. Chris grabbed Kurt by the back of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. Kurt could barely stand, stumbling with each step. Taker's smile was absolutely, downright demonic.

"You didn't think we'd figure it out?" Chris asked, slamming Kurt's face on the roof of the car. A small amount of blood trickled out of Kurt's nose. "You fucked with the wrong woman, Kurt."

"But...but..."

Taker's fist flew. "Shut the fuck up," Taker snarled. "Nobody's giving you permission to speak."

"You're lucky murder's a fucking crime," Chris murmured, pushing Kurt roughly ahead. "You even try to fucking run, nobody's going to find you." Kurt was still stumbling, coughing and gasping for air, trying to wipe away the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, but Chris kept pushing him forward.

"Where are you taking me?" Kurt demanded. Chris hit him hard enough to knock him forward.

"Shut up!" Chris shouted. He looked at Taker. "Some fuckers just don't get the fucking picture."

"Well, we know this asshole has a thick skull," Taker snarled. He walked over to Kurt and put a boot on his throat, leaning down and putting weight on his foot as Kurt began to struggle and gasp for air.

"How many times did she tell you she wasn't interested, Kurt? How many fucking times did you grab at her, scare her, stalk her and assault her? Did you ever fucking think about how you've traumatized that beautiful woman? Have you any shred of fucking decency in that thumb-shaped head of yours?"

"Deadman, he's turning purple..." Chris observed.

"Good. Maybe this will get the point across," Taker snarled. "If you ever fucking come near Rinoa again, if you ever look at her, if her name is ever on your fucking lips, I swear to God, we'll bring you back out here and leave you...and you won't be coming back." Kurt's eyes were bulging out of his head.

"Hey, Deadman, I think we got one more stop for this fucker," Chris replied. Taker looked up at him and wordlessly understood what Chris meant.

"I'm with you there," he replied. He removed his foot. By this point, Kurt was close to the brink of unconsciousness. He and Chris grabbed Kurt by the back of his shirt and dragged him back, sputtering and inhaling, towards the familiar darkness that the trunk of the car had provided.

Rinoa felt butterflies in her stomach. Shane would be along any second. She was so scared to face him. She was so scared of his stares, of what he must have been thinking about her. She couldn't help but heap the blame on herself in this situation.

Shane stopped just before her doorframe and took a deep breath. He knew he needed to be calm in this situation. However, he knew that his first instinct was to run to her, hold her and not let her go for anything or anyone. With a deep breath he stepped into her view. She took one look at him and burst into tears. Shane closed the door behind him and made his way over to her. He was worried about touching her, she looked so fragile before him, but she grabbed onto him and sobbed. He clutched her tightly, stroking her hair. "Shh, it's okay, Noa," he told her, using Chris' nickname for her. "No matter what happens, we'll get through this," he promised her. She cried harder. "It's okay. You're still beautiful, Rinoa. You're still a terrific person." The tears were brimming his eyes, threatening to spill over. It killed him to see her in so much pain. He kept wondering where the hell he was when she was in so much danger.

She pulled back and sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "Your dad said that Kurt showed up here." Shane nodded. "He said you attacked him." Again, Shane nodded. "Is he out in the waiting area?" Shane shook his head.

"Chris and Taker got him." Rinoa knew better than to ask what they were planning to do to him. Frankly, she hoped they killed him. "How's your neck feeling?"

"It's feeling a lot better. I hated having to tell your dad that I needed a few months off, though," she replied. Shane smiled.

"I know. But it's better safe than sorry, right?" She nodded. She was relieved that Shane wasn't pressing the issue with her. "The doctors, um, said that they're going to release you tonight." She nodded.

"I know. I guess it's a pretty basic procedure. They're just running a couple tests I guess and then I'm free to go." Shane nodded. He decided now was the time to pull out the big guns.

"Rinoa, I want you to come home with me," he said. "I'd really rather be with you right now." He was expecting an argument, a moodswing, anything. But she just numbly nodded.

"I think that might be a good idea, Shane," she replied. "I really don't know if I can step in my house again." He smiled sadly at her. That house had been significant for her. It had been her first big purchase. And now because of Kurt Angle, she couldn't bear to look at it.

"How's Steve?" Rinoa asked. "He was pretty traumatized."

"Steve's fine. He's glad that you're all right. Frankly, so am I." He shook his head. "I don't know what would have happened if I lost you, Rinoa. I love you so much."

He saw the tears brimming in her eyes. "I owe you so much," Shane told her, his voice cracking. She shook her head.

"I'll settle for another hug."


	21. Released

**Chapter Twenty-One: Released**

While Rinoa was waiting for some of the last minute tests, Vince received a call stating that the house had been released. When Shane had heard the news, Steve and Debra had volunteered to stay with Rinoa while he went and packed up some of her things.

The feeling of dread still lingered as he pulled the rental car up to the driveway. He knew that for the rest of his life, every time he pulled up to this house, he would see the caution tape, the officers comingling together at the entrance. Killing the ignition, he stepped out of the car, making his way up towards the door. Rinoa had told him she kept a spare key hidden under one of the plants lined along the front door in case she ever lost her keys. He checked the first plant on one side, then the other, finding the little black keybox. He unlocked the door and entered.

He wanted to be sick. The place had been absolutely ransacked. Tables were overturned, and it was clear things had been thrown left, right and center, maybe in hopes of making it look like a home invasion and not a premeditated attack. A brief moment of wonder crossed Shane's mind when he realized that Taker and Chris hadn't been back to the hospital. They had Kurt Angle, and Shane hated to think what they were doing to him. At the same time, however, he personally wished he could be there. But they wanted his hands clean. They didn't want what he would do to Kurt on his conscience while he tried to help Rinoa through her ordeal. But it had felt good to deck him.

Shane shook his head in disgust, making his way up the stairs. He was going to take as many things as he could for Rinoa so that she wouldn't have to return for a long time, if not at all.

He found a large duffel bag inside her closet and set to work packing lingerie, makeup, pants, shirts, sweaters, anything he could fit into the bag. He grabbed books, pictures, her replica Women's Championship.

He knew it was going to be a long road to recovery for them as a pair. He was always going to feel like he failed her, and the worst part was he had to make it seem like he was all right for her sake. And she was going to be traumatized for a long time. Every bump in the night was going to make her think somebody was outside. The sight of this house was going to bring back every memory. And being out of action for the rest of the year was going to constantly remind her of what injuries she sustained in the attack.

The neck would heal in a couple months, but Vince wanted to make sure she was sound mentally before she came back. He also needed to figure out what was going on. Nobody had seen hide nor hair of Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho or the Undertaker since they had so helpfully assisted him off of the hospital premises. Vince knew that Taker was a product of the Old School, and stuff like this usually required ten to fifteen minutes in a back room somewhere, usually ending with Kurt Angle being unable to walk.

Zipping one bag shut, Shane grabbed a suitcase and continued to pack whatever he could. He wanted to make sure that Rinoa was comfortable. He packed some of her favorite movies, her favorite albums, photo albums. He didn't want her wanting to come back here for anything. He just wished there was something he could do to make her forget what happened. But he would be patient. When Rinoa was ready to come around about everything and anything, he would be right there waiting for her.

Jericho and the Undertaker stalked back into the hospital as Rinoa was signing the last of her release paperwork. There were two small band-aids on her neck to cover the stitching. She was dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a white blouse that Steve had thought to bring when he had found her.

Vince intercepted the men. "You two come with me for a second," he replied. They both wanted to see Rinoa at the moment, so they motioned for him to hold on. He understood. But at the same time, he was wondering where Kurt Angle was. He didn't want to have to call in a suspicion of murder charge on his top guys. They stalked past Vince and towards Rinoa.

She looked over at them. "Hey, guys."

"Sorry we're late," Taker apologized.

"It's okay," she said softly, sliding the paperwork across the table to a receptionist. "Shane told me you had some trash to get rid of." They smiled.

"How's your neck feeling?"

"Sore. Doctor said I can get back to jogging and weightlifting and stuff next week, so it's not so bad." The look in her eyes was still vacant. Like she wasn't processing a whole lot of the situation. It broke Chris' heart.

"Do you have a ride?" Taker asked. She nodded.

"Shane should be back pretty quick. He's getting some stuff from the house and then we're going back to his place." She sighed. "That's probably for the best. I really don't know how I can ever step foot in my house again." It broke Chris' heart to hear that, because he knew how important Rinoa's home was to her.

"Do you want us to wait with you?" She shook her head.

"Nah. I'll be okay. It looks like Vince wants to tear a strip off you two anyways." She stared down at the hospital bracelet on her wrist. "If anyone has a pair of scissors though, I'd love you forever." The receptionist laughed and slid over a pair of scissors. She cut off the bracelet. She couldn't handle the reminder at the moment. It was bad enough that every time she stared into the mirror, she knew she would see the new look in her eyes, she would see the band-aids on her neck. Everything would always remind her of what happened.

"If you ever need anything, Rinoa, never hesitate to call me," Taker replied, wrapping her into a hug. Her body stiffened on the contact. She nodded, and pulled herself out of the hug.

"I'll be all right. But thank you." They nodded and went to talk to Vince as Rinoa made her way towards the front entrance. She couldn't take being in the hospital any longer than she really had to be.

"Where is he?" Vince asked. "You fuckers didn't kill him, did you?"

"Vince, calm down," Chris replied. "We didn't kill him."

"He's hanging around somewhere," Taker replied. "I'm not too sure what happened after we suspended him from a street light in front of the police station." Vince's eyes bulged.

"You didn't."

"Vince, we all know he did this to her. We're just giving the police a hand in the investigation," Chris replied with a shrug.

"And if he's innocent?"

"He's not." Vince shook his head. There was no getting this through to the guys.

"Fine. But I'm stepping back from this," Vince replied. "If he fucking sues me for you two, heads are going to roll, are we fucking clear?" The guys nodded. "Good, now I'm going to go check on Rinoa."

"Not a good idea, Vince," Taker replied. "She made it crystal clear she wants to be alone while she's waiting for Shane to come and get her."

"How long have you two known?" Vince asked.

"We just found out," Taker assured him. "But we did have our suspicions." Vince nodded; everyone had their suspicions about those two.

"I hope she fingers Angle," Chris said. "Or something ties him to this. He'd better not get away with this, Vince."

Vince nodded. "I'll call the lawyers and we'll launch a full scale investigation. We'll get to the bottom of it for Rinoa's sake. In the meantime...quit beating the shit out of my Superstars." Taker and Jericho smirked and Vince shook his head before going to talk to Steve and Debra.

Rinoa sat outside. She wasn't a smoker, but at the moment she thought she could use one. People were staring at her outside the hospital, inhaling on their cigarettes and talking to family members and she just wanted to scream. She wanted to rip their eyes out so they couldn't stare at her.

She felt tainted, disgusting. And she knew no amount of showers in the world were going to make her feel better.

She hated Kurt Angle. She just wanted to scream it out. She just wanted to scream, period. She felt so frustrated, so angry, so violated.

Shane's car pulled up and he stepped out to see her. She was still beautiful to him, and at the moment, he had no real way to make her see that. "I got a bunch of stuff," he told her. "I hope I got everything." She smiled.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, standing to her feet. "Thank you." He opened the passenger's side for her and she got into the car, staring up at Shane's gently smiling face as he closed the door.


	22. Home Sweet Home?

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Home Sweet Home?**

Rinoa wondered how she and Shane were going to coexist living together. This was the ultimate test, she knew. She wanted to be alone, but she knew it was better to have Shane with her. She also couldn't imagine at this point what it would be like if Shane wasn't around. But he was playing everything so close to the vest, that she couldn't figure out if he saw her any differently. It was just making her paranoid.

Somebody had called Shane on the plane and told them something that she was certain had to do with Kurt Angle. She could tell. Just by the way his jaw clenched, how he would stare at her, how his words were terse, curt. He had softened up when he had hung up the phone, but for that minute or two, he was back in vengeance mode. The worst part for Shane was that with the invasion starting with his father, he couldn't just back out. And he wasn't ready to take Rinoa back on the road just yet.

"Shane." Her voice was soft. He looked over at her from the driver's seat of his car.

"Yeah?"

"I'll be okay."

He smiled at her. "I know you will," he told her. He was silent for a few minutes; he didn't really know what else to say. "There's a boxing match on TV I wanted to check out tonight, so I thought maybe we'd just order in some pizza and veg out."

She smiled. She knew he was doing his damnedest to make it seem like nothing had happened, that their relationship was still as strong as ever. At the moment, she appreciated it. "I think it sounds like a good idea," she replied. She went back to staring out the window. The glass was cool against her cheek as she watched the world pass her by.

Vince McMahon was rubbing out a tension headache in his home office. The investigator he had spoken to was working closely with the police. They had tried to get Kurt to provide a DNA sample, but Kurt had clenched up and asked for an attorney. They could only hold him for twenty four hours, and if Rinoa wouldn't point him out, and if they couldn't come up with any other evidence from the scene itself, then Kurt Angle was going to be free to go. If Shane was right, and this was Kurt Angle's doing, then the thought of him walking through the doors, interacting with his men and women, and his daughter made him sick.

Linda leaned against the doorframe, a mug of coffee in her hand. "You're thinking about Rinoa, aren't you?"

Vince looked up. Linda had never seen Vince so shaken. Even during his steroid trial, he had managed to keep himself composed for the sake of his children. But now with the kids grown up and moved out, he had nothing to hide inside the walls of his own home. "That could have been Stephanie," he murmured, leaning back in his chair. "I wish we had something to tie whoever did this to her, Linda."

"You think it's Angle?" she inquired, sitting down in the chair on the other side of the desk. He exhaled.

"I'm not sure what to think. But he goes AWOL, and he's in the same vicinity as Rinoa when she's attacked? He lives on the east coast, Linda. What was he doing there?"

Linda tried to come up with something, but she had nothing. "I don't know, Vince. I don't think anybody knows. Has anybody heard from him?"

"Last I heard he was on a twenty-four hour hold. Which means that we all keep our mouths shut on Rinoa's whereabouts. Have you told Stephanie?"

Linda shook her head. "I haven't spoken to Stephanie in a few days," she confessed. "She's been so busy with Hunter's rehab." Vince nodded. Just another reminder that reality sucked in the professional wrestling business.

"Don't tell Stephanie where Rinoa is," Vince replied. "So long as she's friends with Kurt, he's going to manipulate her into getting the information he wants." She nodded. "That poor woman has been through enough. So let's make this as painless and stress-free as possible." Linda nodded. Vince sighed before breaking into a soft peal of laughter. Linda cocked an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"Life sometimes," Vince murmured under his breath. "You know, I could tell the kids not to marry into this business until I'm blue in the face...and what do they do?"

"To be fair, Vince, Shane isn't married."

"But you've seen the way he looks at Rinoa. You know it's eventual." Linda nodded. She couldn't recall Shane so smitten with somebody. He sighed.

"Rinoa's off for the rest of the year I gather," Linda replied. "So what do we tell the shareholders and the fans?"

"Neck injury," Vince replied with a smile. "I'm not about to air it out to the world that the poor woman was attacked in her own home." Linda nodded sympathetically. "We're going to have to do all we can to protect her here. Especially until she's ready to identify – if she can – who did this to her."

Shane had changed into a pair of pajama pants and settled into his bed. He could see Rinoa brushing her teeth in the adjoining bathroom, dressed in a pair of baggy drawstring blue pajama pants and a white tank top. Nothing mattered to Shane in the entire situation, so long as she was all right. She was still as beautiful to him as ever, but he was unsure of how he was going to make her see that.

The water shut off and she wiped the excess toothpaste from her lips with a hand towel before making her way out into the main area. Shane had been terrific; he had cleared out space in his room and she was able to unpack everything. It was a weird feeling to know that she was living with him at the moment.

Her parents would be in the following morning, unable to book a flight right away. Rinoa was scared of facing them. It had always been their biggest fear and they were so right. It pissed her off. It made her feel guilty, stupid. She had yet to tell Shane that she had left the back door open.

She looked reluctant to slide into the bed with Shane. He sensed her apprehension. "If you would like, I can take the couch." She sighed.

"No. It's okay," she replied. "I think I'm just going to go watch some TV for a while." She felt terrible, but the truth was that she physically couldn't make herself lie in a bed beside him.

Shane wanted to mention that there was a television in the room, but he knew she needed her space. He nodded and she disappeared. He laid back, trying to swallow the rage that was directed at Kurt Angle. More than the rage though, Shane felt the very real pang of fear that nothing would ever be the same between them again.


	23. Pushing Too Hard

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Pushing Too Hard**

Shane was concerned, driving to the airport with Rinoa. She hadn't slept yet; in fact, she had cleaned his entire place the night before. He had heard her crying on the couch, but he knew that she wanted to be alone. It killed him to listen to her heartwrenching cries, her attempts to keep it quiet, the way her breathing would hitch and catch as she struggled to breathe through her tears.

Rinoa had made it clear that she wasn't looking forward to seeing her parents. And Shane was concerned. She had picked at the pizza the night before, and she hadn't even bothered with breakfast. He wanted to care for her, but he didn't want to push her too much. She just went about doing last minute things before they had to go to the airport as he could do nothing more than watch on in pain.

He knew she'd be okay. She even told him. But he was worried that she was going to shut down. That she was going to distance herself away from everyone, and he was going to lose her. He darted his eyes over to her. She didn't even look exhausted. She was more or less awake, but the luster and the sparkle in her emerald eyes had dulled. He was so worried about her.

Shane also found that he was worried to death of meeting her father again, especially under these circumstances. He felt like he had let her family down every time he recalled promising her father to protect her from Kurt Angle.

Rinoa leaned forward and began to play around with the radio. Not satisfied with anything she found, she snapped it off and leaned against the seat. "Anything you want to talk about, Rinoa?" he asked gently. Her tone was firm, final.

"No."

Shane bit his lower lip and continued to drive in silence.

Catherine and Pete Fielder spotted Shane and Rinoa waiting for them when they got off the plane. Catherine's maternal instinct took over and she rushed towards Rinoa, who stood limply as her mother enveloped her in a big hug. "Mom...just..."

"We got here as soon as we could," her mother informed her. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine." Her tone was sharp, but Catherine opted to ignore it. She shot a look at Shane, who couldn't offer her much comfort. Pete shot Shane a look of concern, but could see Shane was still beside himself.

"I thought we'd all go out for dinner tonight," Pete replied. "I haven't been to New York before." Rinoa shook her head; she really didn't want to be at the airport, but she was uneasy about staying at the house by herself.

"How about I make something?" Rinoa offered. They looked at her oddly. "I don't really feel up to it." They nodded and she tugged on Shane's arm lightly. "Can we go, Shane? I really don't want to be out here." He nodded and they went to the baggage check.

Later on in the night, Rinoa had gone upstairs to do a few things. Shane sat down with her parents. He shook his head. "I don't know what to do here," Shane replied. "She hasn't slept yet, she's not talking, she doesn't want to be out in public."

"What happened?" Pete asked.

"I don't even know," he replied. "I was out of the country when this all happened. They're saying it was a home invasion."

"Home invasion. Bullshit," Pete snorted. Catherine shot him a look. "That Angle prick's following her around, and suddenly she's violated in a home invasion? Yeah, real convenient." Catherine was taken aback by her husband's rage.

"She won't name him, Pete," Shane replied. "He won't submit to a sample, and with nothing to tie him to it, he's going to fucking walk tomorrow." He ran a hand over his head. The stress was evident. The fact that his sleep pattern was sketchy was written all over on his features.

"Shane, does Kurt Angle know where Rinoa is?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"What do you think?" Shane bit back. He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's been a long week. With the meeting, and this...fuck." He shook his head, trying to dust the cobwebs out. "Look, I don't know. But what I do know is that my dad and I are doing what we can to keep her as under wraps as possible. The last thing we want is him finding her again. Because let's not bullshit ourselves here – he fucking did this. We all know it."

"She hasn't said a word?"

"I've tried, but she clams up. She won't even sit close to me." It was killing Shane that she was closing off so much. "She told me she was going to be okay, but I'm so worried about her."

"So are we," Catherine replied, shaking her head. "I can't believe this has happened."

"I can't believe I wasn't here to help her," Shane replied, shaking his head. "I'm trying to stay strong, guys, but I feel like I let her down, like I let you down, Pete." When Pete looked bewildered, Shane elaborated. "You told me to protect her. To keep her away from Angle, and I failed."

"You can only do so much," Pete replied. "I mean, let's be real here. Did anybody seriously think Kurt would do this?"

"No, but I should have been prepared for the possibility," Shane replied. He sighed. "Kurt Angle is a man who is capable of anything."

"Just stay strong for Rinoa's sake, Shane," Catherine told him. "Don't hesitate to call us if you feel like you can't go it alone. We love you to death, you've been the best thing that's happened to Rinoa. And whether she wants to admit it or not, she needs you now more than ever." Shane nodded.

"I know. I just don't know how to be there for her."

"It just takes time, Shane."

Catherine spotted Rinoa in the room, hanging up some laundry. "You here to tell me you were right?" she asked. Catherine looked stricken.

"Of course not," she told her. "But Shane says you haven't slept."

"Mom..."

"Rinoa, I'm worried about you."

"Don't be. I've lived through enough to know I'll be fine."

"Rinoa, you were raped."

Rinoa froze. The words hit her hard. She looked at her mother, the tears welling up. "I know you don't want to talk about this, Rinoa, but you can't freeze us out now."

"I don't want to talk about this, Mom."

"You're going to need to. And I know it's been so soon, Rinoa, but it's killing me to see you like this. You're never this quiet. Shane's going out of his mind trying to help you, and you aren't telling him what he can do..."

"What the fuck can he do?" Rinoa raged, throwing a dress hard to the floor. "What the fuck can any of you do for me? Do you think talking about this, or throwing it in my face is going to make me fucking feel better about the situation?"

"Rinoa, this isn't your fault."

"You can say that," Rinoa replied. "But you don't know what happened."

"Then enlighten me."

"I don't want to."

"Rinoa, you are not blocking us out on this. We're in this together."

"The hell we are..." she murmured. Her mother grabbed her arm and guided her gently, but firmly to the bed.

"What are we missing here, Rinoa? You're not even doing a thing to get the guy behind bars." She sighed. "Rinoa, do you really want to live your life hiding in the shadows?"

"I don't want to think about it right now, Mom," Rinoa told her firmly. "Back off and drop it."

"Rinoa, just give us something to tell the police. A name, a description, something – anything!" She sighed. "If it's Kurt Angle, then they're going to release him. And do you think he's not going to try and track you down again."

"Stop it." The tears began to flow freely from Rinoa. "What part of cut it out don't you fucking understand?"

"Rinoa, if Kurt did this to you, we need to make sure he's locked up for awhile. I can understand if you don't want to face him, but Jesus, give the police something to go with. If he did this to you, then you seriously need to keep him behind bars."

"Mom, can you just drop it?"

"Rinoa, you need us right now. You cannot do this alone. We have to do what we can to tie Angle to this if he did this." She put herself in Rinoa's line of vision. "Rinoa, did he do this?"

She sighed. "Mom..."

"Rinoa. Please. I don't want to push, but we can't let him walk. For your sanity, for Shane's sanity, for our sanity...we need to see him punished."

"Then what, Mom? If I say anything, everyone else is going to be affected." She shook her head. "This was my fault to begin with..."

"Rinoa, no girl ever leaves herself at fault for that," her mother replied. "Let's be honest, here, Rinoa: everyone is right about this. It's Kurt Angle, right?"

Rinoa sighed. She knew now was the perfect time to let it out. She was worried about what Vince was going to say about the allegations, how the company would be affected, and worst of all, she was worried about how the people backstage were going to look at her if they knew she made these allegations. Women like Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson – women who both had severe things for Shane - would have a field day with their catty comments and their scornful eyes of her.

But she knew deep down she had to say something. They were right. Tomorrow he would be set free and there'd be no telling what lengths he'd go to to find her. She didn't even know how he found her home, and there was no doubt he would click in that she was with Shane and come find her.

She looked at her mom, her gaze quickly falling to the mattress. "Yeah."


	24. The Full Story

**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Full Story**

Filing an emergency injunction with the courts, the police department was able to hold Kurt Angle while they waited for Rinoa and Shane to fly out a couple days later. They were more than happy to give Rinoa an extra day or two to gather her courage and make travel arrangements, and the judge understood that Kurt was a flight risk due to his lifestyle and that she was coming in from a different state, so he had put a hold on Kurt's interrment. Shane had breathed a sigh of relief because he knew Kurt would make it difficult when it came time to come back. And he didn't want Kurt out on the loose, looking for Rinoa so he could intimidate her out of testifying. Shane was exhausted; simultaneous appearances and in-ring matches along with caring for Rinoa, who was still barely sleeping and barely eating, let alone hardly speaking. Whatever Catherine had said to her daughter, Shane supposed had worked because it was a huge step identifying Kurt Angle.

Vince had called Rinoa and had asked her if she was certain that it was Kurt. He assured her that nobody was upset at her about the situation, but it was a serious accusation and he wanted to be sure that the right guy was going away. When Rinoa assured him that it was the right man, Vince had told her to keep her head up and he would see her when Shane went away. With Rinoa so afraid to be alone at the house, she was always left with Linda when the men went away. She and Linda had started to form a bond as a result.

They wanted to have Rinoa as comfortable as possible, bringing her into a back office to give her statement about the events. Shane was beside her, and she clutched his hand tightly, afraid to let go, as though her pillar of strength would disappear at any moment. Shane gave her hand a comforting squeeze and she looked at him. She wondered if she would ever be perfect enough for him again.

A tall man, with the name tag that read "O'Hara" came into the room and closed the door softly behind him. Rinoa began to tremble, and Shane squeezed her hand again. "Rinoa Fielder?" he asked. She looked up and he sat down on the other side of the desk. "I'm Detective Eric O'Hara. We really appreciate you coming in here and doing this. It takes an incredible amount of strength." She nodded. "Before we get started, do you need anything? Some water, coffee?"

"I think water would be nice," Rinoa choked out. She was already feeling drymouthed. She was afraid everyone was going to realize this was her fault for leaving herself so vulnerable. He nodded and he stood to get her some water. Shane leaned over to her.

"You're doing the right thing, Rinoa," he told her. She nodded blankly and he smiled. "Just take a deep breath and take your time. There's no rush."

The officer returned with a partner. "Rinoa, this is Detective David Soloman."

"Hello," she said softly, thanking O'Hara for the water. They both sat down and set everything up to get started.

"I guess first thing's first," O'Hara replied. "Do you know your assailant?"

Rinoa nodded. "We work together."

"Where do you work?"

"We're both employed by the World Wrestling Federation," Rinoa replied. Soloman's eyes lit up.

"Sure. I've seen you two before. You're Shane McMahon. My kids are huge fans," he added when O'Hara shot him a look. Soloman shot her a look of apology, but she brushed it off. It didn't bother her at all.

"Have you had run-ins with Kurt before?"

She nodded. "At first it was kind of innocent flirtation. Stuff I would just dismiss him over. But it started becoming aggressive after a while."

"Example..."

"Back in June, we were holding a pay-per-view event, I guess it was King of the Ring, and he came to take me for coffee. When I said no, he slammed me up against the wall and informed me that it wasn't over."

"What wasn't over?"

"I'm not even sure," Rinoa replied.

"Did you ever have a relationship with Kurt Angle?"

"No."

"Does he have a pattern of harassing other Divas?"

"Yes," Shane interjected. They looked at him. "Prior to this, he was harassing my sister, Stephanie, except she was a little oblivious to it."

"Your sister's married, isn't she? To that Triple H guy?" Shane nodded and O'Hara made a note to talk to Triple H about Kurt Angle.

"Rinoa, I know this is going to be difficult for you, but what we need you to do is to lead us through what happened that night, all right?" She nodded. "So what was happening at that point?"

"Shane was in Canada doing a business meeting with the WWF and he was coming to spend some time with me. I had taken a couple weeks off at the insistence of Chris Jericho to take care of some nagging injuries and to get away from Kurt's consistent harassment."

"Did you ever think of going to your boss about it?" Soloman asked. She shook her head.

"There's like this hierarchy," she explained. "I didn't want to be a troublesome Diva complaining about one of their top guys. A gold medalist top guy at that." Shane shook his head; he felt terrible that the impression had even been made on Rinoa that it wasn't right to say anything. He wondered just how much of it was from her WCW days.

"So you were at home on injury," O'Hara replied, making note of it. "Has he ever been to your house prior to this?"

"No. Never. I was always uncomfortable being alone around him, so I wouldn't invite him to my place." They nodded.

"Do you have any idea how he found out where you lived?" he asked. She shook her head. "Rinoa, how did he get into the house? Evidence shows that there was no forced entry."

She sighed. "I discovered I left the back door open," she replied. "Before I could close it, he..." she sighed again, taking a sip of water. "He grabbed me."

"Do you recall how the door was left open?"

"I think when I was cleaning earlier in the day, but I was almost certain that I had closed it."

"Maybe you did," Soloman told her gently. "Maybe you just forgot to lock it. Do you keep any spare keys around the house?"

She nodded. "I'm a scatterbrain sometimes. I leave a key in one of the plants by my front door."

"Do they open the back door?" She nodded.

"A little known secret is that they're the same key. I didn't want a million keys on my keychain when I designed the house." Shane shot her a surprised look and they wrote it down.

"Is there anyway Kurt Angle could have figured that out?"

She shook her head. "Not unless he tried it."

"What if he did?" O'Hara asked. "Is there a possibility that he unlocked the door to scout the place out and left it open to distract you."

"What we're saying is, maybe you did lock it. But maybe he had your place scoped out already and unlocked it and waited." The idea made both Shane and Rinoa visibly nauseous and uncomfortable. "Is that a possibility at all, Rinoa?"

She nodded. "I guess it could be." She still didn't feel any sense of relief. She looked over at Shane, trying to read his blank expression. She wondered if he thought she was stupid for leaving the door open.

"Rinoa, are you prepared to pick him out in a lineup?" O'Hara asked. She looked over at Shane in surprise. She was terrified at the idea of it. Kurt would know it was her behind the glass. Shane squeezed her hand tighter; he hadn't let it go since they had entered the police station.

"Don't worry," he assured her softly. "If you want me to be, I'm here."

It astounded her that Shane still wanted to be so close to her. He was being so strong for her, and she couldn't thank him enough. Just his presence said everything that words couldn't.

"I would love for you to be there, Shane," she whispered.

"So does that mean you'll do it?" O'Hara asked. She nodded.

"Yeah."

"Is there a shot that we can do this quick? It's a bit inconvenient to keep flying between New York and California," Shane replied. They nodded.

"Give us an hour. We'll have something set up, okay?" They nodded and the guys thanked Rinoa for her cooperation before leaving the two of them alone in the room. Shane turned his chair to her, his hand never leaving hers.

"You're doing the right thing, Rinoa. Please don't look so afraid."

"When this news gets out, Shane...how am I going to face everyone?"

"The ones who have issue with what you're doing can go fuck themselves," Shane replied bluntly. Trish, Taker, Jericho, me, and I'm pretty sure at least two thirds of the locker room have your back here, Rinoa. Don't worry about what they're going to think. The ones that matter should be the ones behind you and not the ones in front of you." She nodded. He was right.

She brought out her hand and touched his face gingerly. Shane was touched. It was the first act of affection she had shown him since everything had happened. "I love you so much, Shane," she replied, her voice almost a hoarse whisper, like she was struggling to find the words and speak them. He kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too, Noa," he told her. He ran a hand through her hair. "Don't ever forget that." He stood. "Give me two seconds. I just need to go talk to the detective about something. I'll just be out the door if you need anything, all right?" She nodded, flashing him a sad smile. Even despondent, isolated and traumatized, she was still beautiful to him. Nothing Kurt ever did to her was going to make him love her any less.


	25. Another Step

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Another Step **

Just Kurt Angle's eyes on the glass made Rinoa tremble as she looked at the officer and pointed him out. They thanked her for her cooperation, but she barely heard it. She just wanted to get out of there. Shane shook hands with the officers; he had left the office to let Detective O'Hara know about the comment Kurt had made outside of the hospital. Everything was adding up against Kurt, but they said with Rinoa identifying him in a lineup they'd be able to get the judge to give them a warrant for samples. From there, they'd be able to compare it to what was taken from Rinoa and make a match. Everyone at the precinct was put off by Kurt, who kept demanding to see Rinoa.

"He says he just wants to talk to her," O'Hara had told Shane with a disgusted shake of his head. "Says this is all a misunderstanding."

"He'll talk to her over my dead body," Shane had replied hotly. The detective nodded in agreement and told him to go rejoin Rinoa before she started to panic.

Outside the police station, Rinoa and Shane made their way down the steps and towards their rental car. They climbed in and she rested her head on his shoulder. "You tired, beautiful?" he asked her. She nodded. "Well, you wouldn't believe how relieved I am to hear you're tired. I don't think you've slept in days." She nodded. Idenitfying him had taken a huge amount of weight off of her shoulders. "Well, we'll catch a flight home, and hopefully you can rest up a little bit on the flight. I think you'll probably want to sleep for a few days, right?" he asked. She nodded. He leaned over and kissed her nose. "You're a strong woman, Rinoa. I'm so proud of you." She felt the tears welling up behind her eyes and he brushed a loose tear off of her face with the pad of his thumb. "Never forget we're in this together."

She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and he clutched her tightly as she cried again into his chest. She hadn't been crying a whole lot, and Shane knew that she had to get it all out somehow. He held her tightly as she cried. He wasn't too particularly sure why she was crying, but he held her nonetheless, soothing her, telling her softly that everything was fine and she was a tough girl. When she was finished, he wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her forehead. She flashed him a sad smile, and put a hand on his leg. He started the car and began to drive to the airport, shooting glances at her to make sure she was still all right.

When they arrived back at Shane's that night, Rinoa was barely standing. She had never felt so exhausted in her life. Shane set about setting up a bubble bath for her and picked out her favorite pink nightgown, resting it on the bed for her. He went downstairs to make her some tea and something to eat, bringing it to the bedroom. He sighed; it looked like she was finally getting back to normal somewhat. He still wasn't so sure. He wanted her to look into counseling. To get whatever she couldn't talk about with him out to someone else.

The bathroom door opened and Rinoa made her way out to the bedroom, a white terrycloth robe around her frame as she dried her hair feverishly with a towel. Shane made his way over to her and put his hands on the terrycloth robe covering her shoulders. She smiled up at him.

"There's some tea and a sandwich on the nightstand for you," he told her. He ran a hand through a wavy, wet strand of hair. "I've got to call Dad about something, so I'll just take the couch tonight..."

"Stay." She smiled at the expression of surprise on Shane's face. "I kind of want you close." He smiled and kissed her cheek.

"I'll go call Dad and I'll be right back. Did you want me to bring any movies up?"

"What do you have?"

"A lot."

"Well that helps," she laughed. "I'll tell you what: you pick one and I'll watch it." He nodded and kissed her cheek before leaving the room. She placed the towel over the closet door and changed into her pink nightgown. She smiled; Shane had everything set up for her. Placing the terrycloth robe on the floor beside the bed, she slipped under the covers and grabbed the mug of tea. It was still fairly hot and she sipped slowly, smiling. She loved him so much.

He returned minutes later with an old movie in his hands. He looked at Rinoa, nestled under his blankets, eating the sandwich. He flashed her a smile and made his way over to his side of the bed, stripping down to his boxers. He slid under the blankets and Rinoa placed everything on the nightstand as Shane hit the play button to start the movie.

"I didn't know you were a fan of old black and white movies," she said softly.

"I grew up on them." He extended an arm and she slid over under his arm. She needed him more than she would have ever admitted. She rested her head on his chest and her eyes closed as Shane stroked her hair. He stared down at her; she had been through so much. His eyes focused back up on the movie.

When the movie was finished, he realized Rinoa was asleep. Moving her aside a little bit to rest down on her pillow, he settled into bed, placing an arm around her waist. As if on instinct, she snuggled closer to him, her head resting into his chest. He smiled, kissing her forehead before closing his eyes. It felt so good to have her in his arms again.

In the middle of the night, Rinoa's eyes opened quickly and her body jerked from the nightmare she was having. Now that she was awake, she couldn't quite remember it, but she was almost certain it had something to do with Kurt. It was one of the reasons why she didn't want to sleep. She knew she was going to dream about him. She'd never forget the way his eyes looked; the way his face has contorted into an animalistic snarl as he held her down beneath him.

She looked at Shane's sleeping face; in the darkness, she could see his face silhouetted in the moonlight from the window. His breathing was soft, even. She was vaguely aware of his fingertips rested on her hips. She knew this was a huge test for the two of them and he was there for her regardless.

She wondered if she should try going back to sleep. The truth was, she was comfortable, and she was still pretty tired. She nestled closer to Shane and closed her eyes again. Even though things felt pretty dark for her at the moment, Shane was always her silver lining in the storm.


	26. They Did What?

**Chapter Twenty-Six: They Did What?**

Shane and Rinoa entered the arena the night of SummerSlam. Chris spotted her and did a running sprint towards Rinoa. "Noa!" he shouted. The technicians looked down the hallway at her and all offered greetings. He stopped in front of her and wrapped her into a tight hug. He pulled back. She was dressed in a denim miniskirt and a white polo short sleeved shirt with her hair back in a ponytail. "Jesus Christ, I've fucking missed you! You look terrific!"

She laughed. "Thanks, Chris. I appreciate it." She smiled.

"How's your neck been?"

"It has its days, but for the most part it's feeling better." He smiled and shot a look over at Shane. "Is it safe if I take her to see the Deadman?"

"Sure. I've got to go run a few things by Stephanie anyways. When you're done with her, just ship her back to my locker room." They shot Shane a look and he winked at Rinoa, who laughed, before he took off. Chris grabbed her arm and led her towards the Deadman's locker room. They ran into Trish Stratus, who was dressed in a pair of lavender vinyl pants and a black halter top, her hair down in waves around her face. She spotted Rinoa and squealed in delight. "Rinoa! You're here!" She rushed over to her and hugged her tightly. "How's your neck doing? Chris said it was a helluva bump you took."

Rinoa shot a grateful look at Chris. "I'm doing all right," she confessed. Trish obviously hadn't heard the news about Kurt Angle yet. "You look great, Trish. I've missed you."

"I always knew things would be up with you and Shane," she replied.

"You know about that?"

"Everyone knows about that, Rinoa. Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson are more or less itching to get at you over it." She laughed. "So where are you two off to?"

"I'm taking her to see the Undertaker. He's not out there already is he?"

"Not yet," Trish replied. "I think he's got about fifteen minutes before he has to hit the Gorilla though, so I'd get over to him fast." She gave Rinoa another hug. "I'll see you soon. Don't be a stranger around here." Rinoa promised that she wouldn't and she followed Chris down the hallway.

"What the hell is she doing here?"

Trish turned to see Stacy Keibler standing behind her, dressed in a black miniskirt and a white tank top, her hands on her hips. She was a tall, extremely thin woman with blonde hair and big brown eyes. She had been eyeing Shane McMahon since he had bought out WCW from under his father. She was one of the youngest Divas there, and a lot of times her attitude reflected it.

"I guess she's here to visit," Trish replied nonchalantly. Stacy rolled her eyes, irritated.

"I can't stand the little bitch," Stacy replied. Trish turned to Stacy, eyes blazing.

"That 'little bitch' has done more for this business than you can ever dream of, so I suggest you shut your mouth before I shut it for you." Stacy opened her mouth to say something, but the look in Trish's eyes told her otherwise and she clamped her mouth shut. Trish smirked. "That's what I thought." She turned on her heels and walked away.

There was a knock on the door and Taker looked up from tying his laces. "Yeah?" he drawled. The door opened and Chris walked in. Taker stood to his feet. "Boy, this had better be good," he growled. He had a match coming up fast against Kane. Chris smiled at him and stepped to the side and Rinoa entered the room. His expression instantly softened. "Rinoa! When did you get here?" He wrapped her in his arms.

"A few minutes ago. I got here with Shane."

"Jesus, you look great." He took her hands and guided her to a chair and sat down with her. "How have you been?"

Her expression darkened for a few moments. "Some days are worse than others," she confessed. "But Shane gave me a reference for a counsellor and I start next week. Um, I've put the house on the market, but I'm letting Shane take care of all that. It kind of kills me to look at the house." They nodded, understanding.

"I heard you went and identified him. That takes a lot of balls, Rinoa," Taker told her. She nodded. "I bet it was a huge relief though." She nodded again. "How's Shane been?"

"Good. Good. I really don't know where I would have been without him," she confessed. "The entire McMahon family's been great," she confessed.

"How's Vince been with you and Shane dating?"

"He's not happy about it," Rinoa confessed, "but since Stephanie got away with it, he won't hold Shane to a different standard. I think he likes me anyway."

"That's because you're so damn likeable," Chris replied. They laughed and Taker stood.

"I have to get out there for my match," he said. "You wait here. I think it'll be a short one." She nodded. "Chris, you'll stick here with her?"

"You know it," he said, mussing her hair.

"Jericho, you're such a prick sometimes," she laughed. He sat down beside her.

"Have you heard from him since everything happened?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I heard one of the officers tell Shane that he was asking to talk to me, but neither of them would allow it." Chris hugged her.

"Thank God."

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you and Taker do to him?"

He pulled back. "What?"

"Shane told me he came by, and Steph said that you and Taker had dragged him off. Then the next time they saw him was at the police station. What did you guys do to him?"

Chris smiled at her. "Don't worry your head about it," he told her. "We just helped point the police in the right direction." She smiled.

"It was some real old school stuff, huh?" she asked. Chris shook his head.

"Guy's a klutz." They both laughed. He sighed. "When are you coming back, Noa? We miss you here."

"I don't know," she replied. "Vince gave me the rest of the year off. To be honest, Chris, I'm not quite sure where my career's going after this." He nodded. He understood. "Chris, be honest with me here: how many people know what happen?"

"Outside of the McMahons, Taker and I, nobody, I think," Chris replied. "Vince told everyone Kurt blew his knee out while he put the investigation underway. He was also afraid of what stigma would fall on you." She nodded. "Look, don't worry about it. Anyone has a fucking issue with you can answer to Taker and I."

She smiled softly. "Shane said it's better to focus on the ones behind you instead of the ones in front."

"That's right," Chris told her. "The ones behind you are your eyes anyways." She smiled. "How's it been living with Shane? I notice he doesn't have any limbs missing."

Rinoa laughed. "Shane's great. He's been taking great care of me. I couldn't be happier with him."

"Have you two...?"

"Chris!"

"I'm just asking,"

Rinoa shook her head. "I'm still kinda weirded out when he touches me. And it's not him, believe me, it has nothing to do with him. It's just...I don't know. I guess I kind of lost some interest in it."

"Shane's okay with that?"

"Probably not," she admitted, "but he understands enough that he hasn't said anything."

"That's good," Chris replied. "Because otherwise I'd kick his ass." They both erupted into a fit of laughter.

"What?"

Shane tried to rub out the tension headache forming. "They fucking did what?" Stephanie screeched into the phone. From the way she looked, the phone call from Vince definitely wasn't going the way she had planned. "Oh, those bottle blonde little bitches!" She sighed. "No, he's right here. I'll let him know." She hung up the phone and sighed.

"Why am I sensing something really bad here?"

"Kurt Angle called Torrie and Stacy?"

"What for?"

"Told them his version of the story, which included a very... ahem, _willing_ Rinoa." Shane's jaw clenched. "Anyway, Torrie made an emergency run to California today because Kurt called for an emergency court proceeding claiming his rights had been violated. Torrie spoke on his behalf, and now Kurt's been released. Both he and Torrie are planning to be at Raw tomorrow night."


	27. The New Guy in the Alliance

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Newest Guy in the Alliance**

When Shane had heard the news the night before about Kurt Angle posting bail with Torrie Wilson, he went into full fledged panic mode. He had pulled Taker and Chris aside and told them that Kurt was on his way to Raw the following night with Torrie Wilson. Taker was visibly disgusted and Chris was visibly frustrated by the situation. When Shane had told Rinoa, she had gone into a full-fledged panic, and they had decided to switch hotels and check in under a different name just in case Kurt made his way over to them. Shane knew it was paranoia, but he vowed to himself night in and night out as he watched her sleep that he would never leave her in harm's way again.

Shane was disgusted with Torrie and Stacy. Rinoa was even more afraid that everything was going to come out. That nobody would be able to look at her the same way again. She had pointed the finger at a colleague, a top drawing man in the locker room, and she knew there was going to be a backlash inevitably. Shane was trying to keep her distanced from the whispers and the stares, tried to convince her that nobody was going to make an issue out of it, but he was scared of where the limit was before she was more or less a prisoner in her home and in the hotel rooms she would have to stay in.

Stacy was waiting for Shane when he arrived, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. She was dressed in a pair of black vinyl shorts and a black tube top, her hair down around her face. She vaguely reminded Shane of a prostitute. Just the sight of her disgusted him. With a roll of his eyes, he tried to storm past, but Stacy grabbed him.

"Shane..."

"Don't touch me, Stacy," he told her harshly. "I don't even understand how the hell you can look in the mirror, let alone sleep at night." He shook out of her grasp. She put her hands on his chest and he brushed them away, only to have Stacy touch him again. "Stacy, if you still want your job, you're going to keep your hands off of me." She sighed, her eyes blazing.

"You're hopeless. That little bitch has you so wrapped around her fucking finger."

"Do I detect a little note of jealousy?" he asked, his tone incredulous. "Is that why you and Torrie fucking bailed him out?"

"The judge wasn't going to do it," Stacy replied. "Something about it being such a serious crime or whatnot. But Torrie..._persuaded_ him." The thought of that made Shane sick. He went to storm past her again, but she stopped him. "She's lying, you know."

"Excuse me?"

"Rinoa? Kurt told me everything. She's lying, you know. She was really into it. She told him she liked to play rough..."

Before Shane could grasp what he was doing, he had Stacy pinned against the wall in the parking lot. Her brown eyes widened in fear as Shane's shot sparks, his face contorted in a sick snarl. He took a second to catch his breath and his expression softened slightly. He let her go.

"When Rinoa comes back from her neck injury, I'll let her take a shot at you. You're not even fucking worth my time," he said. Stacy flinched at his harsh words. "Tonight you've got Trish." With that, he stormed into the arena, leaving Stacy gasping for breath.

"What's up, man? Word is you attacked Stacy Keibler earlier."

Shane looked over to see the Rock, dressed in a suit, the WCW Championship over his shoulder. Shane sighed. "It's nothing you'd understand, man. She said something, I lost my temper, I caught myself."

"It has to do with whatever's going on with Rinoa, isn't it?" he asked. "And I think Kurt Angle's in on it."

Shane's eyes perked up. "How do you figure?"

"I had a detective asking me questions about him the other day. I guess Vince put out an investigation. Since I've worked with Kurt so much, he wanted to know if he had said or done anything regarding Rinoa that made me uncomfortable."

"And?"

"Aside from the occasional chauvinist comment, nothing too heavy," Rock assured him. He sat down across from Shane. "It's a pretty big coincidence they're both out on injury, Shane. What's really going on?"

Shane sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea to talk about it."

"It's going to come out sooner or later, Shane. The sooner you tell me, the better I can keep everyone in line." Shane nodded. He was still hesitant to bring it up or talk about it, but he knew the sooner the top guys knew, the better they'd be able to keep the young guys and the bitchy Divas in line.

"Kurt broke into her home a few weeks ago and..._attacked_ Rinoa."

"Sweet Jesus," Rock breathed. He shook his head; hardly able to process what he was hearing. The emphasis on the word "attack" had made it clear just how serious it was. "I saw her at SummerSlam. She was looking really good. Where is she tonight?"

"At the hotel. We switched hotels. I didn't want to run the risk of him finding her again."

"Isn't he in jail for it?"

"Stacy had Torrie go down to the jail to post his bail and persuade the judge to let him out." Rock shook his head in disgust. "I guess Kurt called them and told them that Rinoa was just acting up and he needed out."

"Jesus. Does Rinoa know?"

"Yeah. She just about had a fucking panic attack." Shane sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Rock...how can Rinoa count on me when I can't even keep her protected from a scumsucker like Kurt Angle?"

"Hey – you're being too hard on yourself," Rock assured him. "And you're forgetting – we all love Rinoa here. And since you've been with her, I don't think I've ever seen you so happy.

"Here's the facts: Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson don't like Rinoa because she has your undivided attention. You're young, you're wealthy, and even without the Alliance, you hold a pretty nice position of power in this company. Stacy and Torrie are looking for a powerful guy to latch to so that they can secure their place in this business with a lucrative backend, because let's face it: those two are here to make a nice amount of money for themselves, and will probably never hold the Women's title. Kurt Angle calls them and gives them a reason as to how they can get the one up on Rinoa, and those two are stupid enough to believe every piece of filth that flies out of his mouth. So, they go and bail his ass out, even though what he did was the worst thing you could do to somebody. They're not doing this because they believe Kurt, Shane. They're doing this because they want a crack at you, so those two will do anything to get Rinoa out of the picture, even if it's as low as throwing her to the wolves, so to speak."

"The fact you're even trying to insinuate that they're doing this for me makes me feel sicker than possible," Shane sighed. He couldn't imagine how Rinoa was back at the hotel.

"Does Taker know about this situation?" he asked. Shane nodded.

"Jericho, too."

"I'll go talk to Jericho and the Deadman. If Angle shows up here tonight, he'll have to go through us. In the meantime, go back to the hotel and be with Rinoa. Let Stephanie take the reigns here, okay?" Shane sighed and nodded. "Rinoa needs you right now, and you're no good to us here."

"Thanks, man."

"No problem. Tell her she'd better get her ass back here. We miss her." Shane smiled.

"Can do." With that, he grabbed his stuff and left.

Vince McMahon was sitting in his office at the end of the night, going through a few security things. If Rinoa ever wanted to visit, he wanted to be sure she was protected now that he was aware the two WCW Divas had bailed him out. He couldn't imagine how terrified Rinoa must be, let alone how upset Shane was. He hadn't seen his son yet; but Jericho had informed him that with everything going on, Stephanie was at the helm of the Alliance for the night. Vince understood. He would have talked Shane into going back and being with Rinoa.

"What is this? What the hell is this?" Paul Heyman screeched into the headsets, bringing Vince's eyes up to the monitor. His jaw hit the floor when he saw what was on the television.

Kurt Angle was the newest member of Team Alliance.

Vince stormed down the hallway, and spotted Stephanie and Kurt together. Vince's blood began to boil. "Kurt, go wait in my office," Vince snarled. Stephanie looked at her father, eyebrow cocked in incredulity as Kurt walked away. He looked at his daughter, dressed in black, with a black leather jacket and a black ECW cap. "Stephanie Marie McMahon, for the love of everything that is good and holy, did you really have to fucking bring him into the Alliance?" He shook his head. "Shane's going to hit the fucking roof!"

"What do you care?"

"Stephanie, there is a traumatized woman sitting in her hotel room right now with your brother, because of _that man. _Have you fucking lost your mind?"

"Dad, this is business, not personal," she snapped. "And I'm not going through this with you."

"For fuck sakes', Stephanie, that could have been you!" She flinched for a second, but squared her shoulders. She was a McMahon all around, stubborn just like her father. He looked at his daughter in disgust.

"You should have stayed at home with Hunter."


	28. A Quiet Night In

**Chapter Twenty Eight: A Quiet Night In**

Shane was horrified with himself and decided to drive around a little bit and calm down before facing Rinoa. It was completely out of character for him to physically put his hands on a Diva. Stacy had made him angrier than he had been in ages. The thought that Rinoa would even want anything to do with Kurt Angle disgusted him, and the thought that he was telling people that she was into it sickened him even further.

He thought about Rinoa. She was still pretty scared about the whole situation, and he knew that Chris was right. Shane and Rinoa couldn't do this alone. Therapy would probably be the best idea for Rinoa. Shane was still grappling with so much guilt. He'd never bring it up to Rinoa, and he was pretty sure she hadn't caught onto it. He felt like he had let her down, and he wasn't sure how he was going to make it up to her. She deserved so much.

He stopped at a deli and picked up a few things for dinner. Knowing Rinoa, she hadn't eaten yet. He was having a difficult time getting her to eat. She slept a lot too. She had lost interest in being affectionate with Shane. It killed him. He could always sense her body tighten under his caresses, his hugs, his touches. He paid for his items and left, but not before taking a few pictures with a couple fans who recognized him.

"How's Rinoa's neck injury?" one of the fans, a young man, asked.

"Good, good. She's recovering pretty well, she said. She's on schedule, whatever that is."

"No timetable for a return?"

"No. But she's optimistic." They snapped a few pictures, he signed a few autographs and they thanked him before leaving. He climbed back into the car and sighed. There was no timetable for return. She wasn't even talking about her return with him. Sure, she talked business matters with him. But she never talked about her career. He knew better than to push. There was a lot he couldn't push. He knew it was just better to let her do things her way.

He started the car and made a couple more stops before heading back to the hotel.

Rinoa was sitting on the bed when he walked into the room. She was staring at the television, but it wasn't on, the remote rested beside her. She was dressed in a silk blue nightie with a matching robe that fanned out over the bed. One leg lay stationary on top of the floral mattress, the other leg crooked up, her nightie riding up mid-thigh. The effect wasn't lost on Shane, but he shook it off as her eyes focused on him. He didn't have to say anything; he knew why she was upset. She knew about Kurt joining the Alliance. Shane wasn't even sure how the hell he was going to even look at Kurt Angle without knocking his teeth out.

"I brought dinner," he told her softly. "I figured you haven't eaten yet. Am I off?"

"You're pretty spot on," she replied, her voice soft. Shane put everything down on a table and went to Rinoa, sitting down beside her. She looked over at him, and the pained look in her eyes broke his heart. "So, the Alliance got a new member, huh?" He sighed. She looked at the clock on the nightstand. "You're back early. What happened?"

"I had a run-in with Stacy Keibler and Chris sent me home." Rinoa chuckled. Shane was still surprised with himself. It wasn't like him to lunge at women. He was usually a little more composed backstage. He was a professional. But she had gotten under his skin. He still felt her words pricking at him.

"Shane, you can't let what they're saying get to you," she told him. "I knew when everything happened that people were going to say what they wanted to say. I'm not bothered by it. And as a McMahon, you can't go flying off the handle." He nodded. "Shane?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to talk about any of this tonight, okay?"

He gazed at her. She was beautiful. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and smiled. "That's fine with me." He got off the bed. "I got stuff for dinner and I even got some wine. I thought we'd have a quiet night in. That sound okay?"

She flashed him a devastating smile. "That sounds great." She got off the bed and tied the robe around her waist, making her way over to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder. She didn't know what she would do without Shane, but she wondered just how long he could put up with her. Every night she would watch him sleep and she would feel like damaged goods. She wondered why Shane stayed around with her, and wondered just how long it would be until a woman like Torrie or Stacy got their claws in him.

"What are you thinking about, beautiful?"

She snapped out of her thoughts. "You've got enough to feed an army, Shane," she laughed softly.

"I thought we wouldn't have to leave for a few days," he said with a laugh. She nodded and he went to gather some dishes.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You can relax." He saw her face darken and he handed her a bottle opener. "There." Her face brightened up. Shane knew it wasn't good to wait on her hand and foot, because she was going to become irritated with being treated like an "invalid". She took a look at the wine bottle before popping it open. Shane handed her two glasses and she filled them. She took a long drink and refilled her glass. She made her way in the kitchen, sipping at the wine. Shane was at the counter making a salad, cutting up carrots. He looked over at her. She was sipping at the wine. The way her hair fell around her face made her look angelic.

"Can I help with anything?" she asked. He smiled.

"You can start making some sandwiches if you'd like," he replied. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry." She nodded. Truth was she was hungry, but she was having a hell of a time making herself eat. She put her glass down on the counter and went to work. Shane kept shooting her glances. When she was finished, she went to the fridge and grabbed some salad dressing and put it on the counter. Shane smiled and pulled her over to him, keeping his hands on her hips. "You look beautiful tonight," he told her. A blush crawled up her neck, spreading to her cheeks. Shane loved looking at her. He took a hand and brought her head up to look at him. "You are gorgeous, Rinoa. I love you so very, very much." He kissed her forehead. "Come on. Let's get dinner, we'll order a movie and just veg out. Sound good?" She nodded. He handed her a plate and a fork and she grabbed her wine glass and they went towards the bed. He grabbed his glass off the table and they settled on the bed. He made a call down to the front desk and ordered an action movie. They rested back against the headboard as she picked at her salad. Shane didn't really object, because she did eat. He had been worried lately; she was already pretty petite, but she was losing weight because she wasn't eating. She was getting better on a lot of fronts, but with Kurt's release, he was scared that all the progress was going to be for nothing.

The night progressed and to Shane's relief, she ate a bit more, but she also found herself getting a little tipsy on wine. Shane wanted to curb it, but she hadn't been drunk in ages.

"Shane?"

He looked at the clock. It was after one, and they were laying in the dark together, in silence. Shane was facing her, an arm crooked under his pillow. He could see her eyes in the darkness. "Yeah, Rinoa?"

"Do you ever think things will be the same between us?" She could sense him smiling at her in the darkness. He put a hand on her hip and she moved closer to him, resting her head against his forehead. The feel of the silk under his fingertips felt incredible. He kissed her nose.

"Nothing's changed between us, Rinoa. You're still a goddess, and I still love you with everything I have." He stroked her side. "You're a strong woman, Rinoa."

She smiled. "I would have been nothing without you, Shane. I owe you so much for being here for me." He pulled her closer to him and she rested her head on his chest.

"I wouldn't want to be here for anyone else, Rinoa." He stroked her hair. "Get yourself some sleep."

"I love you, Shane."

"I love you too, Rinoa. Sweet dreams."


	29. A Fire Burns

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Fire Burns**

Shane woke Rinoa up with a gentle shake and a soft kiss on her lips. He thought she was going to freak at the feel of his lips on hers, but he was surprised when she just moaned into his mouth and her eyes slowly opened. "Good morning, beautiful," he told her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Good morning, Shane." She sat up, stretching slowly and yawning. "What's the game plan today?"

"I thought we'd go out for breakfast and then we'd spend the day at the beach. How does that sound?" She was silent for a second and he was worried that she wasn't going to go for it. Finally, she spoke.

"It sounds good," she replied. "When are we heading back to New York?"

"Tomorrow morning." She smiled. "Now, get yourself up and dressed. I want breakfast." She laughed and he pulled back the blanket. She got out of bed and went to her suitcase, gathering her things. He smiled. Keeping her cooped up in the hotel room was not going to help her get any better; he silently applauded himself for getting her out and about.

She emerged minutes later, her hair brushed until it shone in milk chocolate waves around her face, dressed in a white halter sundress. He smiled. "You look gorgeous."

"I'm starting to think you'd say that if I looked like death warmed over," she said with a laugh. He made his way over to her and gave her a tight hug. He felt her body stiffen for a second, then loosen up as her hands hugged him back. "You hug me a lot," she observed with a laugh.

"Ever think I like how you feel in my arms?" he asked. She smiled.

"I like how I feel in your arms, too," she admitted softly. "It's kind of comforting." Shane smiled.

"Then that's settled. Now, seriously – breakfast." She laughed. He linked her arm through his and gathered his keycard before leaving the hotel room.

Breakfast was nice, just Shane and Rinoa. They had taken a few pictures and signed a couple autographs for those who recognized them, and Rinoa diffused a potentially explosive situation when some guy challenged Shane to a fight, claiming he could kick his ass because "wrestling is fake". Rinoa had soothed both their egos, and the guy had disappeared back to the table after she had threatened to go to management. It had taken a few minutes to calm Shane down, but just like Vince, Rinoa could calm Shane down with just a word. He had nodded, taken a deep breath and resumed eating breakfast, although he was glaring daggers at the guy for the rest of their time there.

Now, they were at the beach, towels spread out along the yellow sand. Rinoa stripped off her dress to reveal an emerald green bikini. It was more conservative than what some of the other Divas wore in their bathing suit spreads, but to Shane she still looked breathtaking. She looked over at him, already in his swimming shorts. She lay down on her towel and stretched out. Shane shook his head; the image of her in the bikini was driving him insane. "I'm going to go swim. You coming with?"

"In a little bit. I think I'm going to enjoy the sun before it gets too hot." He nodded and crouched down, giving her a quick kiss before taking off down the sand. Rinoa sighed and put her sunglasses on, laying back to relax. She knew that Shane wanted the best for her, and this was as good as it was going to get. Breakfast had been wonderful, and the day was definitely going to be just as great.

She felt a small chill as two shadows clouded over her, but she kept her eyes closed, trying to ignore it and relax. But the voices snapped her eyes open. "Oh, look who we have here, Torrie...It's the little rape victim."

She opened her eyes with a snap, her face contorting into a snarl, to see Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler standing over her, Torrie in a black string bikini and Stacy in a blue floral print bikini. Their blonde hair was wet against their faces, hands on their hips, looking down at Rinoa in distaste. Rinoa quickly made her way to her feet and began searching for any sign of Kurt Angle. She wasn't stupid; she knew that these two had bailed Kurt out, even though no one wanted to tell her why. A few people were staring at them, because Stacy had spoken a little too loudly, and Rinoa felt a flush of embarassment.

"Don't worry; he's not here," Stacy replied as Torrie handed her a cell phone. "But since you want to see him so bad..."

Rinoa couldn't take the abuse from everybody anymore. Before she could contain herself, her fist flew so quickly that neither of the blonde Divas could brace for it. Stacy stumbled back over the sand, falling onto a sandcastle and shattering it into a pile of dust and sand. The child who had been building it began to bawl at Stacy. The cell phone had fallen out of Stacy's hand and had landed in the sand a few inches away. Rinoa shot a hard glance at Torrie, who stood with her mouth agape, staring at Stacy.

"Rinoa!"

"Come on, Stace, let's get out of here," Torrie whimpered, shooting daggers at Rinoa, while glancing fearfully at Shane's approaching figure. She helped Stacy to her feet and they scampered out of earshot before Shane made it to Rinoa. He glared daggers at their retreating figures before turning his soft eyes to her.

"Rinoa, are you okay?" he asked. She nodded.

"Fine. My knuckles hurt though." She shook out her hand. "That felt good." She smiled. She felt a little more alive than she had felt in months just by punching Stacy Keibler between those doe eyes of hers.

"What happened?"

"Stacy threatened to bring Kurt Angle down here. I guess they didn't see you around." She shook her head. "I'm fine, Shane." The truth was, she was pretty shaken at their alliance with Kurt. She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"You trying to convince me of that or yourself?"

"Both." She shook her head. "I knew I hated those two for a reason."

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?" he asked. There were people on the beach staring at them. She shook her head.

"No. I'm not going to run because of those two," she answered hotly. Shane smiled. That was a step in the right direction. "I'm going to stay here and have fun with the greatest man on the planet." Shane smiled and slipped an arm around her shoulder, leading her towards the water. Rinoa shook it off, but she was still angry. She would have given her right arm to hit Torrie too, but she knew that eventually, the time for that would come.


	30. A Huge Surprise

**Chapter Thirty: A Big Surprise**

"How come you never told me you were dating Rinoa?"

"You never asked."

"Hardy-fucking-har, Shane-O."

Shane and Stephanie were walking through the mall together, talking about the Alliance and life in general. Survivor Series was in two weeks, and it was winner take all, with Vince putting his five up against Shane and Stephanie's five. Shane was part of Team Alliance with Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Steve Austin and Kurt Angle himself. Shane had managed to keep his emotions in check over the last few weeks, but Stephanie did her damnedest to keep the two separated in hopes that all hell wouldn't break loose. Stephanie was gathering a lot of attention as she strutted down the walkway of the mall, her hair still crimped and flaired out, dressed in a pair of black leather pants and a sparkling hot pink butterfly backless shirt with stilettos. Shane, on the other hand, looked like his usual self, dressed in a white button-down shirt and black slacks.

"How did Dad react?" Steph asked.

"About Rinoa and I?"

"Yeah."

"Better than he did for you and Hunter," he replied. "But he couldn't do a whole lot. Wasn't good timing either. Rinoa was in the hospital." Stephanie nodded. She liked Rinoa, and it was pretty hard to hear that she had been attacked so brutally in her home.

"Where is she, Shane? Everyone's worried about her."

"She's fine. She came and spent a day or two with me, and then went back to her parent's." He felt bad for lying to his sister, but the truth was that he couldn't risk Kurt getting word of where she was.

"So why am I here today?" she asked. A middle-aged woman shot Stephanie a look of distaste, and Stephanie shot her a look daring her to say something. Shane was a little sheepish; Stephanie had been getting the looks all morning. She had gone shopping for some "girl stuff" while Shane had wandered around, looking for different things. The last thing he wanted was to go lingerie shopping for Stephanie. It was just too weird. He had stopped in at another store and picked up something beautiful for Rinoa. It had felt strange, but he masked it surprisingly well. He and Stephanie had met up at a music store, where Stephanie was waiting, being heckled by a few teenage fans.

"I needed your opinion on something. How about we get a coffee first?" She nodded. She was fine with following Shane around. Stephanie wasn't in a hurry to get back to Triple H. He had been increasingly moody with her lately, and she was starting to wonder if that was it for her marriage.

They stopped by a Starbucks in the food court and got a coffee, sitting down together at an empty table. "How is Rinoa doing?"

"She's doing fine," Shane replied, sipping his coffee. "She's bouncing back surprisingly well for what she's gone through."

"Shane, is it true what's going around the locker room? About Kurt..." Shane nodded and Stephanie sucked in a breath. Suddenly all his advances seemed a little more dangerous.

"Torrie and Stacy bailed him out to torture Rinoa a little bit."

Stephanie shook her head in disgust. "That's why you lunged at Stacy, isn't it?" Shane nodded. "Good Lord, Shane."

"Stacy's on a crusade to tell everyone about what 'really' happened. She's putting the entire blame on Rinoa while the rest of us are trying to make Rinoa see that this isn't her fault, and she didn't bring it on herself." Stephanie could tell that it was still bothering Shane, but he was much more composed than he was when it had happened.

"How did she get that bruise on her jaw, Shane?" Shane's eyes jolted up at Stephanie. He knew what she was insinuating and he didn't really care for it. But he wasn't about to cause a scene and Stephanie knew he did have a bit of a temper. After his run-in with Stacy, it would only be logical to look to Shane for the bruise on her jaw. He shrugged.

"Rinoa hit her." Stephanie smiled. "She's still got some spunk in her, Steph."

"Are you going to be okay with Kurt Angle at Survivor Series?"

"I'm not going to start tooling on him, if that's what you mean," he replied after a second of contemplation. "I know that what we're doing is for the best interest of the Alliance. But everybody had better keep Kurt and I apart as much as possible. Has he been asking about her?"

"No. He won't say her name. I heard Jericho and Taker really took a round out of him. It's why he came to the Alliance, Shane." She shook her head. "I thought it was innocent fear, that everyone was looking at him harshly because he flirted with her here and there. I mean, come on, Shane. You and I both know Dad doesn't make a habit of employing rapists." Shane nodded. Kurt Angle was manipulative, and for once, somebody had outmanipulated his sister. At the end of the day, she was still his family, and that was the whole reason why he was overlooking her recruiting Kurt Angle.

"How are things with Hunter?"

Stephanie sighed. "I don't know, Shane. He's been pretty moody with me lately. I think my number as his wife is almost up." Shane shook his head.

"Guy would be an idiot to divorce a McMahon at this stage in his career," Shane replied. Stephanie nodded, but sighed, sipping her coffee. "Every relationship has a rough patch, Steph. You just gotta work through it." She nodded.

"You're pretty wise, Shane." He smiled.

"I know it sounds pretty awful, but the truth is that everything happening with Rinoa kind of woke me up a little bit. It always takes something big to make you realize just how much you need that person with you." Stephanie smiled.

"You love her that much, huh?"

"You don't even know, Steph. She's my everything." Stephanie smiled sadly. She just wished for once that Hunter would think of her like that. She had put her entire career on hold to be there for him while he was rehabbing his quadriceps, and all she had been on was the receiving end of his moodswings.

"What's the timetable for her return?" Stephanie asked. Shane shrugged.

"I don't know. She won't talk about it. But Dad doesn't want her to come back unless she's physically and mentally sound. It might be a while on the mental front. She's still pretty messed up over it." Stephanie nodded and Shane stood. "Anyway, she said she's coming out in about a week, so I want to get this picked out, Steph. So do you mind?"

"No. Not at all." She stood to her feet and threw out her coffee cup. "What is this about, Shane? Why are you dragging me halfway around a mall on a Saturday?"

"Steph, you have to promise not to say anything to anyone right now."

"Fine."

"Promise..."

"Shane," Stephanie's eyes were wide with curiosity. "I promise. Now what's going on?"

"I'm going to ask Rinoa to marry me."


	31. The Proposal

**Chapter Thirty-One: The Proposal**

Rinoa stretched out in bed and was surprised to find that she was by herself. Sitting up, she looked for any sign of Shane. Was he still here? She was still kind of scared to be by herself. She saw a note on his pillow and she picked it up and gave it a read.

_Good morning, beautiful. I'm sorry I couldn't be here to watch you wake up this morning, but Stephanie and I needed to get together to do some things for the Alliance vs. WWF stuff at Survivor Series. Breathe easy, everything's locked up, and Jericho and Taker are on their way. I'll see you tonight. Dress nice; I'm taking you out. Love you. Shane O'Mac._

With a smile on her face, she got out of bed as she heard the knock on the door. "That must be the guys," she replied. She made her way down the stairs and to the front door. Peeking through the peerhole, she saw the guys and opened it, smiling. "Good morning. Oh, my God, you guys brought coffee. I love you." With a hug and taking a cup, she disappeared into the kitchen.

"What's up with Shane?" Chris asked. "He called us this morning telling us to come babysit you for the day." She laughed.

"He said he needed to run over some Alliance things with Stephanie. You two should know that Survivor Series is in a couple weeks." Both Chris and Taker were on Team WWF with Big Show, Kane and The Rock. They nodded.

"Yeah. I heard he's competing on Team Alliance." She nodded.

"You know how Shane is. He's a little hands on," she replied with a smile. She sat down at the table with the guys.

"You're surprisingly happy this morning," Chris replied. "What's up?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But should anyone have a reason to be happy?" They laughed and she sipped her coffee. "Do you think we can go out today, guys?"

"What for?" asked the Deadman as he sipped his coffee. He hadn't taken off his shades or his leather jacket yet.

"Shane said he's taking me out tonight and I wanted to go get something nice to wear." Chris and Taker exchanged glances. They were pretty sure they knew why Shane was out with Stephanie now, and the Alliance was just a secondary reason.

"I don't think that'd be an issue, but what the hell do we know about fashion?" Taker asked. Rinoa laughed.

"I could just use a second opinion, okay?"

"That's fine with us." Taker stood up. "How about we head over now and pick something out?"

"I think we should do a bit more with Rinoa."

"What do you mean, Chris?"

"Well, Shane wants her to look nice, so what if we went and got her hair done and her makeup and stuff. Something tells me that this is going to be a really great night for the two of them." Rinoa cocked an eyebrow and Taker shot him a look and sighed.

"Sounds like a plan. But I am so not fucking picking out girly shit, Chris. That's on you."

"Can live with that, Deadman. Come on, Rinoa. Let's go pretty you up for Shane-O." She laughed and allowed the guys to escort her out of the house.

When the guys dropped her off at the restaurant that night, Rinoa couldn't help but feel self conscious with herself. They had picked out a black sleeveless dress with a sweetheart neckline that fell just below her knees with an empire waistline and black heels. Her hair was cut sleek, just a little under her chin, framing her face, her makeup natural. She made her way into the restaurant and found Shane waiting for her. He stopped and gave her a once over.

"You like?" she asked shyly. Shane smiled, and brought her over to him, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"I love," he told her softly. "You look beautiful." He ran his hand through her hair.

"Taker and Chris kind of got a little gung ho with me today," she confessed and he laughed as they were led to a table.

"Well, I'll have to thank them. You look stunning." She was blushing from all the compliments he was giving her. He pulled out her chair for her and she sat down. He moved his chair a little closer to her.

"So how was your day with Stephanie?"

"It was good. She's kind of stressed out, so she could use all the help that she can get."

"Things with Hunter?" she asked. Shane nodded and Rinoa smiled sadly. "Shame to hear that."

"Their marriage was based on a drive thru chapel and a drugging," Shane replied. "It was only a matter of time. I respect Steph for trying to make it work, but Hunter's obviously got other things on his mind right now." Rinoa nodded. "If it's meant to be, then the two of them will work it out."

"I think once you're married, that's it," Rinoa replied. "No obstacle is too much to get through." Shane's eyes perked up at her in surprise. She had never even talked about marriage in the last eleven months.

"I agree with you there." They ordered dinner and sipped on wine while talking about what strategies Shane was going to employ to survive the elimination match. "I'll probably be eliminated first," Shane replied. "So there's no real strategy there." Rinoa shook her head.

"Aren't you cautiously optimistic." He smiled and kissed the side of her head as dinner arrived.

"Taker, Kane and Big Show are three guys that tell me I'm leaving first," he said with a laugh. They ate dinner, talking about the company in general. When dinner was finished, he suggested taking a walk on the beach.

"Sure, but my heels might be a pain on the sand." The restaurant was beachfront, so they left the car parked and just walked across the street. The sun was starting to set on the horizon, making the skies a pinkish orange color tinged with blue. It was beautiful. Rinoa had taken off her heels and was walking barefeet in the sand. She was holding onto Shane's hand tightly as they walked along the semi-empty beach. The wind was providing a nice chill.

"I love the new haircut, Rinoa," he replied, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "It suits you."

"Thanks. Chris helped me pick it out."

"You had a good day with them?"

"Oh, definitely." They fell into a comfortable silence. Shane was thinking about chickening out. He knew she was still dealing with a lot of things.

"Rinoa, I have something I need to talk to you about."

"It's the timetable for my return, isn't it?"

"What?"

"I know a lot of people are asking about it. I'm amazed you haven't come to me sooner." She sighed and Shane put up a hand.

"No. I'm not going to ask about that. It's whenever you decide you're ready." Shane felt himself becoming more and more nervous. "I wanted to talk to you about something else, okay?" She nodded. "You know I love you very, very much right?" She nodded. "You know I'd do anything to make you happy, right?" She nodded, becoming a little more nervous. "You love me too, right?"

"Shane, you're kind of weirding me out," she replied with a small laugh. She stroked his face. "You know I love you. What's all this all of a sudden?"

"Well, I was thinking..." Shane went down on one knee and Rinoa's eyes widened in surprise as he produced a small black box. "I was thinking we should get married, Rinoa. What do you say? Will you marry me?"

Rinoa was in shock for a second as he opened the box and revealed a beautiful princess cut diamond ring. She shook her head. "Is this really happening?" she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You really want to marry me?"

"More than anything, Rinoa."

"Yes, Shane." She couldn't stop the smile from crossing her face as Shane slid the ring on her finger with shaky hands. He grabbed her around the waist and swung her around, putting her down to level her with the most passionate kiss he could muster.


	32. Survivor Series

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Survivor Series**

Shane and Rinoa entered the arena together the night of Survivor Series, the ring visible on Rinoa's finger. She was dressed in an emerald green long-sleeved sweater and black jeans, a wide smile on her face as she offered sweet greetings to the technicians that she ran into on the way to the Divas locker room. Shane gave her hand a squeeze and she looked over at him, the wide smile never leaving her face. Shane had arranged everything before they had flown out; Kurt would be kept in the Alliance locker room while Shane and Rinoa arrived. Shane was going to drop Rinoa off at the Divas locker room and get ready for the match later on in the night.

They stopped in front of the Divas locker room. "You look great," he told her, kissing her cheek. He had told her she looked beautiful at least a hundred times that day. She smiled and gave him a tight hug.

"Good luck out there, honey. I'll see you when you get back." He leaned in and gave her a kiss. She watched him disappear down the hallway and she opened the door to the Divas locker room.

"Rinoa!" Trish squealed. Lita, Ivory, and Molly all rushed her and she laughed.

"Guys, guys! Let me in the room!" she laughed. She gave them all hugs.

"Rinoa, you look amazing," Molly replied with a wide smile.

"Look at that ring!" Trish exclaimed, holding up Rinoa's hand for everyone to see. "Oh, my God, did you and Shane get engaged?" The girls began screaming without waiting for Rinoa's confirmation. Trish had to silence them. "Let the woman speak!"

"Yeah," Rinoa confessed and the Divas locker room went up in loud squeals. "He proposed to me two weeks ago. Oh, my God, you guys it was so romantic."

"How is your neck doing?" Ivory inquired. Rinoa's face darkened for a moment.

"It's doing all right," Rinoa confessed. "It's pretty sore some days, but it's more or less better. It's a matter of getting everything scoped out before I come back."

"What's the time table for your return?" Lita inquired. Rinoa shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Vince wants to make sure everything's good to go before I come back." The girls nodded. "But, everything otherwise is going pretty good. I'm really happy; the happiest I've been in ages."

"When are you and Shane getting married?" Lita asked.

"We'd better have an invite to the wedding," Trish snapped. The girls all nodded in agreement.

"Of course you guys will," Rinoa replied with a smile. "I want the wedding as soon as possible, but Shane hasn't really committed to anything yet. He's been so busy with this Alliance stuff that I don't really blame him. I think once this whole invasion thing's over tonight, he'll get on it." They nodded and Ivory stood to her feet.

"I've got to run," Ivory replied. "I gotta get over to the Alliance locker room to watch the match." Ivory had defected a few months before to the Alliance, but she still came to visit her friends on the WWF side.

"Give Torrie Wilson a punch for me. She'll know why." The girls laughed and Ivory left, with Molly following close behind to go visit Spike Dudley.

"I should go see Matt," Lita replied. "I'll be back after the show. It was nice seeing you, Rinoa. You look great. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Lita." She disappeared, leaving Trish and Rinoa alone.

"How are you really doing, Rinoa?"

"Fine, fine," Rinoa replied. "Shane's been amazing through everything. No pressure whatsoever." She smiled. "I wanted to ask you...when I get married, would you mind being my Maid of Honor?"

"I'd be honored to," Trish replied with a smile. "You're going to make a beautiful bride. Shane must be over the moon."

"He was so cute. He was so nervous." Rinoa shook her head. "I owe him a lot for everything he's done for me. He's been my rock." Trish nodded.

"He's been so amazing for you." Rinoa nodded. They started to watch the main event. Shane shuffled out at the top of the stage and Rinoa smiled. "I always knew something was going to happen with you two." Rinoa laughed. "How did Vince react?"

"He took it better than I thought he would. He wasn't too happy, but I think the fact he found out while I was in the hospital softened the blow. He took the engagement pretty well. He's pretty happy. I got a big hug from Vince and Linda and a welcome to the family." Trish smiled.

"How has it been living with Shane?"

"Great. He's very thoughtful, very sweet. He doesn't get on my nerves too much." They laughed. "I couldn't imagine not having him around at this point."

Trish stood up suddenly, a wide smile crossing her face. "Let's go to the WWF locker room. You know the guys would love to see you." Rinoa nodded.

"I think that sounds like a great idea."

"Rinoa!"

She found herself wrapped in the arms of Bradshaw and Faarooq. "Guys, guys, look who's here!" Bradshaw shouted over the group of people. Trish grabbed Rinoa's hand and held it up for everyone to see. They all applauded. "Congratulations!" Bradshaw said, hugging her again, "Shane is one lucky son of a bitch!"

"We'd better be getting invites!" Jeff Hardy called out from the back of the room. Rinoa smiled.

"Of course," she called out with a smile. The guys all cheered and brought her into the middle of the room and she smiled, watching the match with the rest of them.

Shane made his way backstage after being eliminated. He was exhausted. He had given it what he could, but he was the first one to go. He went to the Divas locker room and knocked, but nobody was answering the door. His face darkened; he knew that he had dropped Rinoa there. Sure, Kurt hadn't been eliminated yet, but he had hoped that Rinoa would stay put that she wouldn't get stuck running into Kurt, Stacy or Torrie.

"Shane!"

He turned and saw Trish making her way over to him. She flashed him a smile. "Hey, Rinoa's in the WWF locker room with the guys. Congratulations, by the way. That's quite a rock on her finger."

Shane smiled. "Thanks."

"The locker room wants invites to the wedding, so wherever you book it, make sure it's a big space." Shane smiled. "She said that she wants it as soon as possible, so when are you thinking?"

"New Year's Eve."

"How in the hell are you going to pull that off?" Trish asked.

"With a lot of help. You in?"

"I'm the Maid of Honor. I'm up for anything." They both laughed and made their way towards the WWF locker room. The guys roared for Shane and he took his place beside Rinoa, placing an arm around her waist and drawing her close. Shane knew he should be in the Alliance locker room with Stephanie, but wherever Rinoa was standing was where Shane would rather be.


	33. Wedding Preparations

**A/N: Next chapter is the last chapter. There is a third installment. Thanks for all the reviews and for reading.**

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Wedding Preparations**

"Jeez, I know you guys wanted it so soon, but how on earth are you two going to get a wedding planned and executed in a month?"

Rinoa was in the changing booth with Trish sitting in a chair, helping her friend pick out wedding dresses. "Shane's a McMahon. If there's one thing I've learned about the McMahons, it's that they can accomplish just about anything." She emerged from the change room in an asymmetrical dress with a pleated bottom from the knee down. Trish's face crinkled in distaste. Rinoa nodded. "I know what you mean. I don't like the top."

"That's great. I hate the bottom." Rinoa laughed. "You go change out of that, and I'll find another dress for you." Rinoa disappeared and Trish began giving the woman a description of what she wanted. The woman handed Trish a white dress with white sequins making an icicle pattern on the torso. It was strapless, with a billowing skirt. Trish's eyes widened and she smiled.

"This one is perfect. Thank you." She rushed back to the change room and handed it to Rinoa over the door. "Try this one! I think it's perfect!" Rinoa looked it over.

"Wow, Trish. It's gorgeous. Um...I might need you to zip this up for me."

"Get the dress on and I'll do that."

"It is on. I need it zipped."

"Then open the door." Rinoa unlocked the door and Trish zipped it up. She turned around and Trish's breath caught. "Rinoa, you look amazing. Wait here."

"Where am I going otherwise?" Rinoa asked dryly. Trish smirked and took off. She returned with a woman beside her.

"How does that look?"

"Perfect. It really brings out your eyes. Do you think a pair of gloves would go with that?"

"Oh, definitely," the woman replied. "But I would say go with the dress. What do you think, Ma'am?"

"I think it's beautiful." She turned and stared into the full length mirror. The dress fit against her snugly and it looked beautiful on her. She smiled.

"I think I am going to go with this." She disappeared into the room and changed back into her clothing. She emerged and handed the lady the dress. She paid for it and made an appointment to come in for adjustments and fittings. "Do you think Shane's going to like it?"

"Shane's going to love it," Trish assured her.

"Fuck, man. I can't believe Shane O'Mac is getting married."

"Congratulations, you lucky son of a bitch. Rinoa's a fox."

Shane couldn't keep the smile off his face. Rodney and Joey Abs were going over locations with Shane. "How the hell did you get so lucky, man?" Rodney lamented, sitting down at the table with Shane, a bottle of beer in his hand. He smiled.

"I don't know, but I sure in the hell won't question it." He sighed. "What about here?"

"On the rooftop of a nghtclub? Wouldn't Rinoa freeze?"

"I don't know the dress design, but we'd obviously have the reception indoors. Can you imagine how beautiful she's going to look?" The guys were smiling.

"Christ, you got it bad," Joey Abs replied, sitting down on the other side of Rodney. "I can't believe you and Rinoa are planning a wedding in a month."

"She wants the wedding as soon as possible, and I want to have her as my wife in the new year," Shane replied. "Simple as that. If it means I have to kill myself with these plans, then so be it." The guys shook their head.

"Are you nervous about marrying her?" Pete asked. Shane thought about the answer for a second.

"No. Honestly, I'm not. Rinoa and I have been together for a while now, and we're living together. The only difference is she'll have my last name." The guys smiled. Shane was so smitten. It had been ages since they'd seen him so in love. "I love her so much, guys. I can't wait to marry her."

"Have you two...?" Pete asked. He knew about what had happened with Rinoa and Kurt Angle. Shane had filled them in when he needed someone to talk to.

"No," Shane said with a shake of his head. "I don't think she's ready for that yet, and I don't want to be the one to push her. Frankly, I'm just as satisfied laying beside her without that."

"Now I know you've got it bad," Rodney replied with a laugh. "Because you've been on one hell of a cold snap." Shane laughed.

"When you really love someone, sex - or lack thereof - isn't a big deal," he told Rodney with a slap on the shoulder. "One day, my friend, you'll figure that out." A wide smile cracked Shane's handsome features as Pete Gas let out a cry of surprise.

"Owned!" Pete shouted, while Rodney flushed with embarassment. Shane shook his head. "Man, that was rough, Shane."

Shane laughed. "Come on, guys. We need to start getting this all planned out. Would you all shut the fuck up and focus?" The guys nodded and sat down around Shane to pick out a wedding location.

"How about this one, Rinoa?"

"Wow," Rinoa replied, looking at the teardrop shaped diamond necklace. "It's beautiful."

"Rinoa, that would look beautiful on you. You totally have to go for it." Rinoa smiled. "Man, I can't believe how busy the next month is going to be for all of us." Rinoa nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe it. I wanted it as soon as realistically possible, but Shane wants it before the end of the year," she laughed. "I've never heard of a man wanting to get married so fast. Whatever happened to cold feet? Commitment issues?" Trish laughed.

"It's because he loves you, Rinoa." Rinoa smiled. "You two are just perfect together. It makes me jealous watching you two." Rinoa laughed. "I'm serious. You two are so lucky." She examined Rinoa. "Are you nervous?"

Rinoa smiled. "Sure I am. But I know that I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else." She bought the jewelry and left the store with Trish. They were going to buy some lingerie and a garter before the wedding. "If he didn't leave me after what happened with Kurt Angle, then I know I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with him." Trish smiled. One day, she hoped she could find something like what Rinoa had.


	34. The Wedding

**Chapter Thirty-Four: The Wedding**

Rinoa stood in a back room at WWF New York while Trish zipped up the back of her dress. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was piled elegantly atop her head, with curled strands falling around her face. Her makeup was natural, her lips a dusky pink. She slid her gloves on as Trish zipped up the dress and she surveyed her reflection in the mirror. She turned to Trish, who was dressed in a red strapless dress, her blonde hair brushed straight around her face, her makeup like a classic movie star's. A wide smile was cracking Trish's beautiful features.

"Rinoa, you look beautiful."

"Thanks, Trish. God, I'm so nervous...I feel like I'm going to throw up or something." There was a knock on the door and Rinoa's eyes looked over. "Come in." The door opened and Catherine and Pete were standing on the other side of the door, Pete in a black suit and Catherine in a sky blue dress with a black shawl over her shoulders. They walked in and Trish closed the door. Catherine's eyes widened.

"Jesus, Cath, look at our daughter," Pete breathed. "She looks so beautiful."

"I know. Can you believe that she's getting married?"

"I think she picked a hell of a husband, Catherine."

"I agree, Pete." They continued to gush and fawn over their daughter while Rinoa tried to soothe the butterflies in her stomach.

"Shane-O."

Shane turned to see Vince behind him, dressed down in a suit. He smiled. "Where's Mom and Steph?"

"Upstairs, having a seat. They're waiting for the ceremony to start. I thought you and I could have a father son moment. A normal one anyway." Shane smirked. Vince sighed, giving his son a slap on the back as Shane buttoned up the tuxedo jacket. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Dad. I'm kind of nervous, but I'm probably not half as nervous as Rinoa is right now." He examined his reflection in the mirror. "How do I look?"

"Ready." Shane turned to his father, taking a deep breath. "I have to admit, Shane, even though I didn't want you marrying into this business, you picked a hell of a wife. You and Rinoa are so right for each other. I'm proud to say she's part of this family." He gave his son a hug.

"Thanks, Dad," he replied. He sighed. "I guess we should get upstairs now." Vince nodded and the two McMahon men made their way out of the room.

Shane stood on top of the building, standing next to Rodney. Trish was already standing on the other side, with Rinoa's cousins Alison and Sabrina standing on the other side. Beside Rodney was Pete Gas and Joey Abs. It was dark, the sky was a deep cobalt without a cloud in the sky. Thick snowflakes were falling, creating an ideal winter landscape. Everyone was sitting in their seats, waiting for Rinoa to finally emerge, chattering excitedly about how it was about time Shane and Rinoa got married.

The wedding march began and Rinoa made her way out the door and down the aisle as the people stood. Shane's breath caught. She looked phenomenal. She made her way towards him, her father accomapnying her, the snowflakes falling on her hair and her shoulders as she made her way over to Shane. She stood in front of him and Shane took her hands in his and smiled at her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"You look gorgeous," he told her softly.

"You clean up nicely yourself," she replied. They stood smiling at each other as the preacher began to speak. They exchanged their vows and Rinoa smiled the whole time. Tears were brimming her eyes and Shane had to lean over a few times during the ceremony and wipe the tears from her eyes, causing her to blush. She fought the urge to cry a few times, managing to keep herself in check as she exchanged wedding bands with Shane.

"With the power vested in me," the priest stated, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Shane, you may kiss the bride."

Shane flashed her a smile and leaned over, his lips connecting with hers in a soft kiss. He heard the guys in the crowd hooting and hollering like rabid football fans and they broke the kiss, laughing. Shane linked his arm through hers and led her back down the aisle, where people offered them kind words of encouragement and rabid cheers before making their way down the stairs towards the main area of the club. They were going to stop by the apartment so Rinoa could change out of the heavy dress, and he wanted some alone time with his wife. There was no time for a honeymoon; Shane was set to leave in two days for a meeting with some Italian networks and then he had to fly out for another meeting. Rinoa had been great about it, but Shane still felt pretty bad.

Later on in the night, Matt and Jeff Hardy were drunk, leading everybody in a huge jump around dance in the middle of the dance floor with Lita. Alison was dancing with Christian and Sabrina was talking up a storm with the Mean Street Posse. Shane and Rinoa were standing at the back of the club, smiles on their faces while talking to their parents.

"Shane, you know you can always take some time off," Vince replied. "Go on your honeymoon for Christ's sakes. We can find somebody else to cover it."

Shane shook his head. "I ran it over with Rinoa, and she said it's fine. Dad, I've been working on this presentation for months. And, it would look better for a McMahon to be there and promote it. And before you even say it, you and I both know we can't send Steph to take care of it." Vince sighed and looked at Rinoa.

"You sure you're okay with it?"

"Of course I am. Shane wants me to stick around and take care of a couple things." She and Shane had a talk the night before and she was going to get some counselling about what had happened with Kurt Angle. She flashed Vince a smile. "I understand business is business, and I told Shane last night to go ahead." They nodded and they went to get a drink. Shane turned to Rinoa and gave her a kiss.

"I love you so much," he said with a smile.

"I love you, too," she replied, hugging him tightly.

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. She shook her head.

"It's fine," she replied. "I have that appointment in a couple days, and I'd rather just get some stuff settled at the house, okay?" He nodded and kissed her forehead.

"I'll call you everyday."

"I know you will," she laughed. Trish Stratus and Edge made their way over to Rinoa and Shane.

"Enough, you two – you got enough alone time tonight! Get your asses on the floor with us!" Edge retorted, grabbing Rinoa by the wrist. Trish grabbed Shane, and with their laughter carrying over the music, the four of them made their way to the dance floor to celebrate a new chapter in Rinoa's life.


End file.
